Spirits
by oak of the radbackflips
Summary: The Spirit Realm is in chaos, and to find a new spirit ruler spirits of the deceased are randomly chosen and sent to earth to fight it out to find a new ruler. Two catches: One, if you lose, you're eliminated. Permenantly. Two, all spirits need a host...
1. Chapter 0: Prologue

_Prologue _

Okay.

Things had officially gone from bad to worse.

If this he was dead, the afterlife sucked.

If he was asleep, he'd better wake up damn quick.

"Judai, you're not dead." The boy in front of him stated quietly, staring at him with unblinking golden eyes. "And you aren't asleep, either. This is real."

Judai's own chocolate coloured eyes narrowed. "There's no way this is real."

The boy shrugged, running a hand through golden-tinged chestnut brown hair. "Believe what you will."

"What the hell is going on here?' Judai actually surprised himself with how calm he was being. Normally, he would totally freak out. But now.... it seemed like he'd lost even the ability to be any emotion other than calm. "Who are you?"

The boy shrugged again. "My name is Haou. And, I'm not human."

_Not.... human?_ "Whaddaya mean by that?" Judai crossed his arms and looked around him, soaking in the appearance of his surroundings. Or rather, lack of it. Everything was black. Just... blackness. And where Judai's shadow would have been, there was whiteness in the shape of his silhouette.

"The Spirit world." Haou replied nonchalantly, as if he'd just been asked what the time was. As if someone being dragged into a different world was normal. "Oh, I'm sorry. You want to know what's going on, right?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Judai narrowed his eyes and glared at Haou.

"All right. It's like this." Haou paused for a second, as if sorting out what he was going to say next. "It's a little complicated, but I'll do my best. The Spirit World is –obviously, - the world that the souls of the deceased come to when they have nowhere else to go. Before you say anything, sometimes spirits do actually have to go somewhere else. Like Limbo, if they've got unfinished business on Earth. Anyway, recently, the current ruler of this realm has... um... well, let's just say even spirits don't last forever." Haou trailed off awkwardly.

"You mean he died?" Judai stated bluntly.

"Yes. That's right. When spirits corrupt, that's that, really. Anyway, there's something that happens in the spirit realm when one Spirit Ruler dies. Another one needs to be found. And spirits are chosen randomly to become candidates for-"

"God?"

"I suppose you could say that. Of course, you only become Spirit Ruler –Or, "God", like you call it- when you eliminate the rest of the competition." Haou looked a little pensive at these words. "It works sort of like this. When candidates come across each other, they fight. The winner moves up a rank, and the loser is either sent back to the spirit realm... or, if the victor chooses, completely eliminated.'

Judai shuddered inwardly. "And your point is? What have I got to do with anything? I'm not a spirit, and I'm not involved in this stupid competition of yours.' He crossed his arms. Truth be told, he _was_ wondering what this was all about.

"Ah. That's thing. You have everything to do with the competition." Haou snapped out of his brooding, smiling softly. "Because! A spirit can't fight as a spirit, right? They need hosts!" the golden-brunette pointed at Judai. "And you're my weapon!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**Hi! Oak-chan here! This is my new fic, **_**Spirits!**_** I've been wanting to write a fic with Judai, Haou, Johan and Jehu for a while, so this will be the fruit of my labours! I'm hopefully mainly going to be updating this one, **_**The Separation**_** will be updated every now and then... because I need to sort out my storyline... I've written chaps 3 and 4, but I want to re-lengthen them and edit and stuff before I edit. But I actually know where I'm going with this one! Please review, I'd love to see your opinions!**

**Sorry if Haou and Judai appear a bit OOC, but hopefully that'll change. This is my first GX fic, so please be kind!**


	2. Chapter 1: I'm your what!

_-Haou to Judai-_

_Judai to Haou_

_Chapter 1: I'm your what?!_

Groaning sleepily, Judai opened his eyes.

Or, at least, he tried to.

But everything was still black.

_What's going on?!_ Instinctively, Judai panicked. _Why won't I-_

_-Stupid human. Calm down.-_

Oh, wait, that's right- wait, what?!

If Judai was panicking before, he was totally freaking out now.

_What the hell?! What's going on?!_ He tried to open his eyes again but to no avail. His body simply wasn't listening to his mind.

_-Again, calm down. It's me, Haou.-_

Oh, right. The previous night.... he'd fallen asleep and had a weird dream about some spirit realm and a spirit-boy called Haou, who was saying something about candidates for God, and hosts and weapons and-

Wait. If Haou was talking to him, then....'

_-No. It wasn't a dream. You're really slow, aren't you, Judai?-_

_Hey! I resent that!_

_-I'm sure you do.-_

_....and here I was hoping that was a dream. _

From his place inside Judai's mind, Haou couldn't help sighing. Judai was an open-minded human, compared to most, and that was why Haou chose him as his host. But one thing he'd failed to take into account was Judai's stubborn refusal to cooperate when he didn't want to. As Haou was about to find out.

_-Well, it wasn't! And you fainted right after I synched our souls! What kind of a human are you? Most of them don't faint!-_

_Well, excuse __**me**__ for panicking! You can't honestly blame me! Now why can't I move?!_

Haou sighed again. _–It's part of the pact. Rule One: The first day a spirit and human synch the spirit is in control. After that, I'm just a little voice in your head unless you either call me out or I force my way out. So, technically, I'm the one in control here, little voice.-_

_Say what?!_

_-You heard me...-_ Haou opened his-Judai's- eyes, and took in the sight of what was around him. It had been literally centuries since he'd walked the Earth as a human, and quite frankly, even though he'd only been looking at the modern world for a few minutes before taking Judai as his host it had already completely baffled him. Judai's room was no different to anything else.

Sitting up, he pulled the sheets off him and stepped onto the floor, cringing immediately. _–Don't you ever clean in here, or was it hit by a hurricane in your sleep? -_ The place was a complete and utter sty. Clothes, books and papers were littered all over the ground, and it was hard to find a path to the door without stepping on anything.

_Hey, I just never have time, and- that's beside the point! Give me back my body!_ Judai pouted inwardly, seeing as he couldn't do it physically.

_-I couldn't even if I wanted to, and- look, what's that beeping noise? – _Haou searched for the source of the incessant, high-pitched beeping noise, and his eyes locked onto a small, grey plastic box with a digital display of numbers in red – AKA an alarm clock. _–How do you shut it up?-_

Judai rolled his eyes mentally as well. _Press the "Snooze" button. It's the big one, in case you were wondering._

_-I can read! - _Haou replied in annoyance, pushing the button and instantly stopping the noise.

-_Thank god, I was about to smash that thing.-_

_It's called an alarm clock._

_-....- _Haou sighed, and bent over to pick up a scrap of screwed-up paper on the ground. Un-scrunching it, it appeared to be some sort of assignment. _–Were you ever planning to do this? - _he asked dryly.

_No, why?_

_-No reason. - _He kept picking up the papers, and placing them on the bed, and threw the clothes in the empty laundry basket in the corner.

_What're you doing?_

_-Cleaning. This place is a mess. If I'm going to be sharing a body with you, then I want this room to at least be __**habitable**__.- _

_Well, sorry for not meeting your standards of cleanliness!_

Haou ignored the fuming boy and started stacking the books on the desk placed up against the wall. Just as it was finished, the bedroom door burst open and a brunette woman stepped into the room grimacing the grimace of a person about to face the impossible.

"Judai, time to wake up-" Her eyes widened as she saw that 'Judai' was already up. Then they widened to the point of almost bursting out of their sockets when she saw he was_ cleaning his room_.

Yes, shocking, I know.

"Judai? You're up already," If she was shocked, she wasn't doing a good job of hiding it. "And your room's clean. That's.... different....'

Haou narrowed his eyes at the woman that had suddenly barged in. Forgetting his role as Judai, he asked (rather stupidly, but he denies it ever happening to this day): "Who are you?"

If possible, her eyes bulged even more.

_Hey, idiot! That's my mom! _Judai yelled at Haou, who immediately cringed at the mere volume of it.

_-Well, how was I supposed to know that?!-_

_You weren't, but you didn't have to and make her suspicious! 'Who are you'.... God! _

"Dai-chan, is something wrong?" His mother – Her name was Reiko- asked, evidently puzzled. "Are you all right?"

Haou blinked. "Umm, yes? What would be wrong?" _–Dai-chan? She'd better not be serious.- _

_She is._

"You're just acting....strange, is all." Reiko folded her arms. "Is this hormonal, or something?"

_-Hormonal?! Is this woman stupid?!- _"No, I'm fine.... ehh, Mom." Calling a woman he'd just met his mother was, naturally, overwhelmingly uncomfortable. And the way she was staring at him wasn't exactly helping his confidence all that much either. _–Does she always act like this?-_

_No, you're just acting overly weird. _

"Well, if you say so...." Reiko turned to leave, but something caught her eye. "Ju-chan, where'd you get that necklace?" Haou, who hadn't been expecting her to say anything else, jumped slightly and looked down at what had his "mother's" attention.

It was a fairly long silver chain, with a gem pendant. The gem was golden in colour, and shaped a bit like a sun. "This? I found it," Haou lied easily; since he as of yet had no ties to her he felt no remorse. "I like it."

Reiko shrugged. "It's pretty. Kind of girly, though. Each to their own!" And with that, she left the room. Haou stood in silence, staring at the empty doorway.

_-Did she just call me girly?-_

_She called __**me**__ girly. What is that, anyway?_

_-Hmm, this?-_

_What else?_

_-If you must know, it's a pendant that symbolizes this body is host to a spirit. It lets the spirits in other bodies know they can challenge the spirit to battle. That's about it, really.-_

_I don't want to wear a necklace! Mom's right, it's girly! Besides, I don't __**want**__ spirits coming up and challenging me! I don't want to fight! _Judai protested.

_-You don't have a choice! It's one of the rules! Besides, you won't be doing the fighting. I will. You'll be on the sidelines in spirit form.-_

_That's not much better! You'll totally wreck my body! ...what's spirit form?_

Haou walked over to the closet and started rifling through Judai's clothes. _–God, your wardrobes just as bad, if not worse, as your room! Do you __**like**__ living in a total sty or something?!- _

_Does it matter?! Besides, you didn't answer my question! _

_-Hmm? Spirit form is when one of us is control of the body, the other can appear spiritually beside them and live as a spirit. Only we and other spirit-possessed beings can see or hear those in spirit form, however. Also, right now, we're speaking via a mind-link. It's basically telepathic. Only we can hear each other, unless someone was to read our minds. Anything else?- _Haou explained in what seemed like complete boredom. This was all basic knowledge to him.

_How do you do spirit form?_

_-Just try it. Imagine being beside me.-_ In a mere matter of seconds, a completely translucent Judai appeared besides a bemused Haou. _–See? Nothing to it.-_

Judai remained silent while Haou continued to dig through the piles of clothes at the bottom of his wardrobe. _Haou?_

_-Hmm?-_

_Earlier, when you said, I was your weapon.... what did you mean?_

Haou paused, and turned to face the transparent version of Judai standing behind him. _–I meant, in this case, the humans are used by the spirits as a way to fight. Isn't that what weapons are? Things used for fighting? A possessed human is a 'weapon', in that sense.-_

Judai stood in silence while Haou returned to his task. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, he asked quietly, _Is that all I am to you? A weapon?_

Haou stopped what he was doing, and stood staring at the back of the wardrobe. Judai noticed immediately that he didn't reply. _Haou?_

_-I guess you are, in a way. But, do you really want to know...?-_

_....I guess not._

Judai turned away from Haou. _What're you looking for, anyway?_

_-Something I can stand wearing.-_

_....hey, what day is it?_

_-Monday, why?-_

_....._

_-What?-_

_You're kidding...._

_-What? Is something wrong?-_

_Damn straight something's wrong! I have school today! Quick! What's the time!?_

_-Eight Thirty? Look, what's the problem? Do you have to go to school?-_

_Are you retarded?! Of course I have to go to school!!! ....no, __**you**__ have to go to school. Hurry up and get my damn uniform!_

**And the first chapter is done! I know this isn't very exciting, but the action will mainly start next chapter. Thanks to all that reviewed and faved! (Wow, four subscriptions already? I feel special!) Please review! **

**And on a side note, to **_**Yuri n' Chuka,**_**what's **_**Zatch Bell**_**? I've never even heard of it^^;**


	3. Chapter 2: They're all around us

_**I don't own YGO GX. So no need to sue. Because all I own is a laptop and fifty cents. And a dog kennel. **_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_Judai to Haou_

_Chapter 2: They're all around us…_

Running to school that morning in an over-large and relatively uncomfortable uniform with a bulging rucksack strapped to his back, Haou decided that he really, really hated human life.

And it was only the first day.

_No, left turn! Not right! You're going the wrong way!_

_-You said right just a minute ago!-_

_Did I? My bad._

Groaning, Haou turned around and headed in the other direction, finding himself on a busy street covered in traffic, both car and human. The brunette ran across the pedestrian crossing, bumping into a young woman on his way over. But the thing that caught his eye was the sparkling pendant at her breast, shining purple in the sunlight.

_Was that…._

_-A weapon. That woman was a weapon.-_

……_.._

Met by only silence, Haou sighed and continued down the road.

"Judai! Hey, Judai!"

Haou ignored the call, and just kept walking.

"JUDAI!"

He glanced to his left as a short, pale-cyan haired boy ran to his side, panting and trying to catch his breath as he fell into step with the brunette. "Hey, Judai! What's up?"

Haou ignored him. And just kept walking. "Judai?"

_-Who's the child following us?-_

_That's Sho! He's my best friend! Turn around and say hi! Big smile!_

_-Umm….-_ "Uhh. Sho?" He spun around to face the blunette with a fake smile plastered on his face. "Hi!"

Sho smiled. "Hey, Judai! What's up?"

Haou felt like a clown, grinning this much. "Uhh…." _–Say something stupid like Judai would….-_

_I resent that!_

"The sky?" Haou's grin, if possible grew larger and cheesier. Sho stared at him for a second, then grinned as well, so he must have done something right. He turned around again and fell into step with Sho, who was adjusting his glasses.

_Now smile and ask how his deck's coming._

_-His what?-_

_Just ask!_

"So, uhh…. Sho? How's your deck coming?" Haou asked nervously, what the hell was a deck? Sho's smile shrank a bit.

"Not too bad… actually, adding Cross End Dragon probably did some good…." Haou just nodded and pretended to know what the blunette was talking about. After a few more minutes of fake-talking, they arrived at a huge school called "Hikari High". From there on, Haou just followed Sho wherever he went, to class and during breaks because it seemed like what Judai would do. Sometimes, when he tried paying attention in class (Like Mr. Stein's History Class), he was actually _instructed _to fall asleep, or at least pretend to.

_-What kind of student are you?-_

_A bad one. Now sleep, damnit, sleep!_

But the thing that worried Judai most of all, from his view in both spirit form and Haou's mind, was the amount of students that carried pendants. In fact, he stopped using spirit form because of how many people there were that could see him, and it just plain scared him. The thought of being pitted against his own classmates, not to mention friends, even if only in body and not soul…. Even that was near terrifying.

And by the end of the day, in the last five minutes of Professor Cronos's class (A rather freaky looking blond teacher with long hair, really pale skin and… purple lipstick?), Haou was forced to 'wake up' in order to pack up. When he stood up to leave with Sho, Cronos glanced over and said, "Mr. Yuki, stay behind after class." in his overly reedy voice.

Haou blinked and nodded, placing his bag back on the desk.

_-Any homework never started?-_

_Too much to say, really…._

As the last of the students filed out of the classroom, Cronos walked over to the door and closed it, which didn't worry Haou in the slightest. What _did _worry him was the clicking noise that followed afterwards. He spun around to face Cronos. He'd locked the door.

"What's all this about?" Haou asked calmly, crossing his arms and sitting on the desk. It wasn't like him to lose his cool. Ever.

Cronos flashed him a sinister grin, reaching into his pocket. "Mr. Yuki, I can't pretend I haven't wanted to do this for a _long_ time.'

Inside, Judai was panicking. _Haou! What's going on?_ Haou ignored him.

"Like I said, what's this about? Now." He blinked, watching Cronos pull a long silver chain out of his pocket. Dangling off the end was a dark blue crystal pendant in the shape of a four-pointed star. Haou's eyes narrowed. "That's cheating."

Cronos raised a slender eyebrow. "How so?"

"You need to display your symbol clearly so other spirits know you're a weapon. Otherwise, other weapons could get forced into situations…" He gestured around him to the locked and deserted classroom. "….like these."

Cronos strung the necklace around his neck and started playing with the pendant. "You aren't Judai, are you?"

"No."

"A new weapon, is he?"

"Yes."

"You know I'm not going to let you leave until after our battle, don't you?"

"…….yes."

_Haou?_

_-We're going to fight.-_

_What?_

_-Cronos' spirit and I are going to fight.-_

……_._

Haou fingered the golden sun pendant hanging around his neck. He could feel the fear radiating off Judai in waves. It was becoming increasingly obvious how little his 'weapon' cared for battle. He sighed. "All right. Let's get this over with."

Cronos grinned. "Let's."

Haou closed his eyes as two, separate lights enveloped both he and Cronos; Haou's light was gold and Cronos' the same dark blue as his pendant. Judai's eyes widened from inside Haou's mind; he could feel his soul being torn from the body and flung away. He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact against the classroom desks that never came. Instead, he passed right through them, and landed softly on the ground in spirit form.

"_Wha…."_ He rose to his feet, eyeing the classroom in confusion. _"What…. Happened?"_

He glanced to the side, only to see a ghostly Cronos standing a few feet away from him, arms crossed. _"Since this is your first time, this is what's going to happen. Our spirits will take on their true forms, and fight with our bodies. The winner gets to return to the body to fight again; the loser is either sent back to the spirit realm or destroyed according to the wishes on the victor."_ Cronos explained with the cruel grin returning to his face. Judai felt himself paling. _Destroyed?_

He looked back to the centre of the classroom; the chairs and desks had been flung aside to leave a huge empty gap in the centre of the room. Two figures stood there: the first, a dark haired boy with spiky hair and pale skin; he wore black clothes and a long black trench coat over the top as well as his pendant hanging around his neck. His arms were folded, and he stood strong, calmly regarding the other being with a calculating look.

The second figure was…. Well….. He looked almost exactly like Judai. His hair was still the messy dark brown with the sun-paled light brown colour on the top; the only difference being it was tinged gold in places. His eyes were a deep gold, and they seemed cold and void of emotion. The figure wore dark grey material armour (probably leather); a grey long-sleeve jacket over darker grey pants with black metal gloves and boots also tinged with gold. Flung back over his shoulders was a deep crimson cloak of sorts, and a great sword with a black and gold helm was at his side. The figure had his hand clasped around the golden sun pendant hanging at his neck, and stared emotionlessly at his opponent.

Judai's eyes widened to the point of almost popping. _That_ was Haou's true form? He looked amazing! Like some sort of medieval warrior! Glancing to his side, Judai saw that Cronos didn't look as cocky as he had before. His teacher caught his gaze, and Judai sent a full-blown grin at him before turning back to the others.

The boy stared at Haou, a smirk forming on his lips. "I'm Jun Manjoume. You might have heard of me," he stated, watching to see Haou's reaction. Which was just about nothing.

"No, not really." Haou replied truthfully; this boy was getting on his nerves already. He clasped his hand around the hilt of his sword, as if waiting for Jun to strike first. Jun's eyes narrowed.

"Are you going to tell me your name?" the dark-haired boy asked; his smirk turning to a glare.

"Hnn. Haou."

Jun's eyes bulged, then he quickly regained his composure. "Haou? So you're _that_ Haou?"

"That depends which Haou you're talking about. Are we going to fight, or stand around talking all day?" Haou pulled the sword out of its sheath, and held it up to the light, running a gloved finger along the blade.

"Are you mocking me?" Jun shouted, hands balling to fists.

"_Haou! Don't make him mad! You don't know what he can do!"_ Judai yelled desperately, ignoring the strange looks his teacher was giving him.

Haou replaced the sword and stared at Judai. "I won't lose, Judai."

Jun let out a low growl. "We'll see about that!" he yelled, throwing his hand forward. "Try this on for size!" A block of earth burst out of the ground, and with a second movement it was flung towards Haou. Who didn't move.

"_HAOU!"_ Judai yelled desperately, willing his spirit to move, step out of the way, take up a defence, _anything_! But he didn't move.

As the earthen block neared him, Haou stood completely still, and just as it was about to hit him….

A flash of light, and the block split in two, both halves falling to either side of Haou. Judai let go of the breath he'd been holding, and stared in awe at the sight in front of him.

The two blocks lying either side of him, and the once glowing, but now dulling sword was held in Haou's hand as he stood with his arms hanging loosely at his side. If Judai hadn't been paying attention, he would have sworn he'd been holding the sword all along. In reality, right before the attack, it had still been in its sheath. So, that was….

"_Haou! That was awesome!" _Judai cheered, and a disbelieving Cronos stood next to him with his mouth hanging open. Haou nodded, confirming he'd heard Judai, and took steps towards Jun, who was standing completely still out of shock. The gold-tinged brunette pointed the blade at his throat, saying quietly: "I win."

Jun's eyes widened. "Wha-"

He couldn't even finish the word before Haou slashed at him, effectively severing his head from his neck. In an explosion of blood, Jun's now decapitated body crumpled and fell to the floor, lifeless.

Judai stared on in shock as the two halves of Jun started glowing with the same blue light as earlier, before vanishing, leaving a cracked pendant lying on the ground. Haou turned to face Cronos.

"I win. And he's destroyed."

**Yups! Chap 2 is up! And yes, I killed Jun (LOL, I don't like him!)XD. 'Sides, it's not really killing, he's already dead. He's just been destroyed X3. Any Manjoume fans, please don't kill me! Thanks to all that reviewed, it's much appreciated!**

**Oh, as for clothes, Jun's is just his uniform around season three, and Haou's isn't his totally over-the-top spiked thing, It's the other one without the helmet coz the other was totally overdone (in my opinion). **

**If anyone wants to see any particular spirit/weapon combos, drop me a line…. Coz I don't have any as of yet. Please review on your way out!**

** ~Oak-chan!**


	4. Chapter 3: Just who wants to fight?

_***Looks around* Nope, sorry, still don't own. If I did, there'd be a helluva lot more Spiritshipping (And Darkshipping to boot! …..and Idolshipping. And a whole bunch of other shipping. But whatever). **_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_Judai to Haou_

_Chapter 3: Just who wants to fight?_

Haou lay on Judai's bed with his eyes half-closed, holding the cobalt four-pointed star necklace he'd won off of Jun and Cronos up to the light. Judai had been silent since the end of the battle, thoroughly disgusted with the result. Closing his eyes, and letting his arm fall limply onto the mattress, Haou couldn't honestly say he blamed him.

"_I win." _

_Jun's eyes widened. "Wha-"_

_He couldn't even finish the word before Haou slashed at him, effectively severing his head from his neck. In an explosion of blood, Jun's now decapitated body crumpled and fell to the floor, lifeless. _

He frowned; remembering bitterly exactly what had happened after the battle had ended.

_Haou knelt down to pick up the necklace off the floor; ignoring the blood and just rubbing it off. Crimson stained the soles of his boots, and as he swung around he held up the symbol, showing it to both Cronos and Judai as proof that he was the victor. The two were still in spirit form, but they had very different expressions etched onto their faces. _

_Cronos had a face of shock; eyes widened and mouth hanging slightly open. A typical response, for a human in his position. But Judai…. Instead of the happy, victorious face he expected to see, he saw one of fear. Fear and disbelief. _

"Haou….."

"_Judai? What's wrong?"_

"You….."

"_Judai….?"_

_Judai lowered his eyes. _"What did you do? How could you?"

_Haou flinched at the sound of total distrust and hurt in Judai's voice. That wasn't right. He should be happy they won…..right?_

Haou shook his head, opening his eyes again and started fiddling with his own sun pendant. That had been over six hours ago. Maybe he should try talking to Judai…

_-Judai?-_

_I don't want to talk to you right now._

…or not.

_-What's wrong with you?-_

_What's wrong with __**you**__? You killed him! How could you?_

_-What? I didn't kill him….-_

_Fine! You destroyed him! Same thing! He's not coming back!_

_-Why do you care? You only knew him for about five minutes.-_

_He's still a being with a life! How could you?_

_-He would have done the same to us!-_

_That doesn't change what you did, or make it right. _

_-What do you want me to do? Apologise? Send an "I'm very sorry" sympathy card to Cronos?-_

…_..just promise me you won't destroy them again. Just…. Send them back to the spirit realm or whatever you do instead of destroying, but just don't….._

_-Fine. I won't unless I absolutely have to.-_

_Thank you, Haou._

_-….actually… there is one….-_

_What?_

_-Doesn't matter.-_

_But-_

_-Good night, Judai.-_

…_..night, Haou. _

.:…:…:…:.

The next day had Judai back in control of his body, and was definitely pleased about it. Everything was back to normal… well… almost.

_-Judai! You need to wear the symbol!-_

_No! _

_-It's the rules!-_

_I don't care!_

Haou was set on having Judai wearing the symbol so they could initiate another fight, and Judai was point blank refusing.

_I'm not fighting, __**you're**__ not fighting, and we're not wearing the damn necklace!_

_-Judai!-_

_No!_

_-But!-_

_Fine!_

_-Ju- wait, what?-_

Judai rolled his eyes and strung the necklace around his neck, hiding it under the collar of his shirt and therefore keeping it out of sight.

_-…. That's cheating.-_

_Don't care._

Had Haou been, say, a seven year old, he would've pouted. But he wasn't, so instead he just crossed his arms and frowned as he appeared in spirit form next to Judai. _–Judai!-_

_What- whoa, you aren't wearing your armour. _

_-What? No. Why would I wear armour around the house?-_

Haou was wearing a long-sleeve black buckle-up shirt with a high collar and white strips running down the sides of the buckles. The sleeves had decorative clasps at the wrists, as well, and he was wearing regular black pants and boots as well.

_Yeah, well, I'm not fighting!_

And blocking out any further protests, Judai headed to school.

It had been a relatively uneventful day, but by the time the lunch break came around Judai was so paranoid about being challenged to fight that he was jumping at the slightest of things, despite the symbol being hidden. The reason being that Haou had stayed in spirit form next to Judai all day, fully aware that any other spirits or weapons could see him without any problems. He had logically figured that if they couldn't see the symbol, they could see him and still battle.

_Ha-ou! _Judai whined mentally at his look-alike spirit. _Please, please, __**please**__, get out of spirit form! There are people staring at us!_

Haou shrugged, refusing to remove himself from sight. _–Judai, there's no point in having a symbol and not using it. We're going to find an opponent and we're going to beat them. Don't worry about it, because I'm not going to lose.-_

_That's not what I'm worried about! I'm worried about you doing stuff like what you did to Professor Cronos and Jun yesterday!_

_-Hmm? Only Jun got destroyed. Cronos was __**fine**__ afterwards.-_

_And I don't wanna fight one of my friends! Haou, please!_

_-No.-_

Judai pouted inwardly, and headed towards his new sanctuary: a corner of the school hidden in-between two classrooms (a small, deserted corridor usually reserved for the janitor), as opposed to the school roof that he and Sho usually went to. He had been purposefully avoiding the blunette, afraid that he might also have a pendant and they would be forced to fight, but it was unfortunately necessary.

Sighing heavily, the brunette made way to sit down with the sun-eyed spirit trailing after him. Haou watched Judai as he looked like he was about to fall asleep, and sat down, leaning against the wall beside him. If it wasn't for the fact that spirits couldn't stray too far away from their hosts, Haou would have left him to go find an opponent. As it was, he was stuck within a five-metre radius of Judai.

_-Maybe choosing Judai as a host wasn't such a great idea, - _Haou thought to himself, eyeing the younger boy lying asleep across from him. _–He-–_

The sound of someone nearing- a _clacking_ sound of boot against tile- reached Haou's ears, and he glanced out to the main hall to see who it was. A girl, probably shorter than Judai, with raven coloured hair that reached down to her back and warm brown eyes appeared at the end of the hall. Haou raised an eyebrow at the orange shirt showing underneath her uniform blouse.

She walked along absently, glancing to the right where she saw Judai. Then her eyes widened as her line of vision locked on Haou. The gold-tinged brunette scanned her body, looking for any sign of a pendant, finding a pale blue heart-shaped gem hanging from a chain at her neck.

She blinked, then let out a small smile. "So, Judai's a weapon then?"

Haou shrugged, eyeing her carefully. _"You don't sound very surprised."_

The girl sat down across from him, smile never faltering. "There are a lot of weapons around these days. I guess it was only a matter of time before I found someone I knew that was one. You look a lot like Judai, you know that?"

Haou was only slightly taken aback by the abrupt change of subject. _"Yeah, I know. I have no idea why, either. You're a weapon, too, right?"_

She nodded. "Yeah, but I don't wanna fight."

"_You sound like Judai."_

"Really? I thought he'd be really into this."

"_Why's that?"_

"He can be really competitive."

"_All the competitiveness I've seen from him is when we're arguing. Who are you, anyway?"_

"Hmm? My name is Rei Saotome. This is my spirit, Asuka." As the ravenette said that, she gestured behind her and a blond girl with pale brown eyes that appeared around the same age as her appeared over her shoulder.

The spirit girl, Asuka, smiled. _"Hi!" _

Haou raised an eyebrow. _"Uhh… hi, I guess." _

Rei glanced at the sleeping figure beside Haou and sighed. "Is he going to wake up, or just keep sleeping forever?"

Haou looked back at Judai. "_Good question. If we leave him, probably sleep forever." _He prodded Judai in the shoulder. _"Wake up."_ No response. _"I said, wake up." _A few more pokes later, Judai began to stir.

"Nnnn….. Haou….? What….?" He mumbled sleepily, blinking while taking in his surroundings. "Nnn…. Rei-chan?" Haou rolled his eyes and stood up, grabbing Judai by his uniform's collar and dragged him to his feet. "Wha- Haou! Leggo!"

Haou released his hold on the brunette's collar and leant against the wall, folding his arms. Judai shot a glare his way, then turned to face the shorter girl. "Rei-chan, what're you doing here?" His eyes locked on her pendant. "You… uhh…. Oh."

Rei's hand clasped around the gem. "Mm-hmm. I'm a weapon." Asuka grinned, and waved at Judai.

"_I'm Asuka __Tenjōin! Rei's spirit. Nice to meet you!"_ She held out a pale, opaque hand, which Judai hesitantly shook.

Judai gestured backwards to Haou. "That jerk's called Haou."

Asuka nodded. _"Okay!" _Haou, who had previously been zoning out, snapped back into attention.

"_Well, if you're a weapon and spirit, I'm challenging you."_ A faint, barely visible smirk graced Haou's features as he stepped beside Judai, took a hold of the chain and undid it, pulling it off his neck. _"Winner takes all."_ He held up the golden sun pendant, eye glinting with the prospect of battle.

However, Asuka and Rei didn't see it that way. "Ohhh! It's so _pretty!_" They gushed simultaneously, watching it glitter when held up to the light. Both Judai and Haou sweatdropped.

"_Umm….. thank you?" _

"Haou! We're not fighting them!"Judai protested, shocked that the spirit could suggest such a thing.

"_I need to get as many pendants as possible! Right now, I only have two! Including this one! Or did you forget that already?"_ Haou snapped, jerking the chain up and snatching the pendant out of the air.

Rei and Asuka shot back to attention immediately. "Oh, really? We've only got this one." Rei smiled sheepishly, unfastening the clasp on her own chain and holding it up. "We haven't fought anybody yet."

Haou turned away from Judai. _"Well, either hand it over or fight for it!"_

Asuka and Rei glanced at each other, then shrugged. "Okay."

"_Okay what?"_

"_Okay, you can have it."_ Asuka took the necklace off Rei and placed it into Judai's hand_. "We aren't big on fighting, but at least this way I can still stay on Earth until the game ends. So, take it."_

Haou and Judai were both in shock. _"That easy?"_ "Say what?"

Judai turned on his spirit counterpart instantly. "You didn't say you could do that!"

Haou's eyes narrowed. _"I didn't want you to try giving it away to get out of fighting! And you aren't surrendering the game. I won't let you!" _

"Oh, yeah?"

"_Yeah!"_

Rei and Asuka watched in bemusement as the two startled to squabble. _"Cute. They remind me of me and my brother," _Asuka whispered, and Rei nodded in agreement_. "But, really, I know I've heard the name Haou before….. But I can't remember where."_

Rei smiled. "Really? Those two are funny, though. I'll be rooting for them to win. Even if Judai doesn't want to!"

Asuka giggled. _"Haou wants to win, though."_

"They're funny."

"_Yeah."_

**And that's chap 3! Pendant tally is up to three! And Asuka and Jun's origins become evident next time. I hope Haou's happy, because he's just scored himself a couple of cheerleaders….**

**Oh, yeah, and lame ending, I know. I didn't want to make it too long…. But I wanted to end it around here…. So it ended rather stupidly…. But, yeah. **

_**Yuri 'n' Chuka: **_**Hnn, I know what you mean! Jun's a jerk :( By the time this really gets underway, Judai probably will need a therapist… several. Lol. **

**If anyone wants to see any particular spirit/weapon combos (as in, who you want to see as a weapon and who you want as their spirit partner), drop me a line…. Coz I only really have two as of yet. Please review on your way out!**


	5. Chapter 4: Someone Up There

_**Do I look like I own it? Do I look like I could come up with it? Do I look rich? No? Thought not. **_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_Judai to Haou_

_/Rei to Asuka/_

_/Asuka to Rei/_

_Chapter 4: Someone up there….._

After Asuka and Rei's unexpected withdrawal from the competition, the four decided to just sit down and talk. Well, Judai, Rei and Asuka decided to talk. Haou just sort of moped around in the corner.

"Cronos-sensei was a weapon? Wow, I never knew!' Rei listened with interest, placing her hands in her lap while listening to Judai. "I bet his spirit was just as much of an ugly, mean old man as he was!"

"Actually, he wasn't. I don't know much about him, but he said his name was Manjoume Jun." Judai replied as Asuka perked up with interest.

"Manjoume Jun? I knew him." She smiled softly. "Actually, we kind of died at the same time."

"Really? How?"

Asuka leant back on her hand, placed on the ground behind her back. "Well, we went to the same school. A whole bunch of the students in my class died at the same time, because there was a gas explosion in the boiler room, and the fire spread to our class, before burning down the rest of the school. A few people managed to get away, but the rest of us died." The blond smiled sheepishly at the identical looks of shock on Rei and Judai's faces.

"S-seriously? That's horrible!" Rei immediately leant forward and managed to glomp Asuka, despite both of them having been seated. "Asu-chan! That's so awful! Why didn't you tell me before?"

Haou glanced over to the source of the ruckus, and sweatdropped. _–Oh, god, what __**idiots.**__-_

Unfortunately, it turned out that Judai had heard him. _Haou! That's mean! What happened was awful! _

_-A few people died, so what? People die every day. And no matter who you are, you're always going to end up dying, it's just a matter of sooner or later.-_

_How can you be so heartless? Those were Asuka's friends that died as well!_

_-You learn to get over death after you've seen it a lot. Besides, Asuka seems to have gotten over it, so what's the big deal?-_

…_..jerk. _

Judai caught Haou's eye, and looked away. Sighing, Haou stared back at the ceiling, trying to block out the sounds of Rei's frantic "_ASU-CHAAAAANNN_"s, and Asuka's _"Rei-chan, Rei-chan, it's okay! I'm fine now!"_s.

Just then, the lunch bell sounded, signalling the start of class. And Asuka disappeared, returning back to her sanctuary in Rei's mind. Haou, however, just grabbed Judai by the arm and pulled him to his feet before dragging him towards his next class.

Despite Judai's heavy protests, both mental and actually out loud, Haou didn't offer one word of explanation, and soon enough Judai's complaints switched from being dragged away from Rei and Asuka to being dragged through the corridors of the school with so many people staring at him. A couple of students snickered. All them, he noted, were weapons. The other, non-weapons, were just looking at Judai like he was insane.

_HAOU! LET ME GO!_

_-How about…. No. -_

_Jerk! Let go of me, I can walk by myself! Everyone's staring at us!_

_-Let them stare, if they've got nothing better to do. –_

_Wha- Haou!_

And, completely ignoring Judai, Haou towed his weapon to his classroom, passing by Sho on the way.

"Hey! Judai!" The little blunette called, waving at his chocolate-eyed friend. Judai, using the arm that Haou didn't have a death grip on, waved, smiled sheepishly and yelled; "Hi, Sho! Bye, Sho!" Then he was dragged around the corner. Sho just stood there, staring at the spot that Judai had just been in.

"What was _that_ all about…?" he asked himself, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Oh, well. Judai _is_ a weird one, I guess…"

_Haou! Why'd you do that? You completely ignored Sho! What's wrong with you?_

_-I ignored who?-_

_Haou!_

Haou smirked inwardly. Judai, although perhaps not the best weapon in the world, was nonetheless amusing. It was _fun _messing with him. And as for whether or not that made him a rather twisted sadist… It sort of reminded him of back when he was alive, when he messed around with-

His eyes narrowed, and golden irises hardened. Hadn't he told himself, over and over, to _forget_ them? So why did they keep popping up in his mind, with that stupid smile and-

_Haou. _

Haou let out a small, inaudible growl.

_Haou?_

God, he was so pathetic.

_Haou!_

_-What?-_

_We went past my classroom, you idiot!_

_-Huh? Oh. -_

Haou let go of Judai's arm, and turned to leave. _"Let's head back, then."_ He said out loud; after all, who was around to hear him?

Judai nodded, rubbing his arm where Haou had cut off blood circulation. "Yeah-"

"_No,_ I think you should stay there."

The unknown voice interrupted what Judai was about to say. Both Judai and Haou turned to face the voice; and both chocolate and gold eyes widened at what they saw.

.:…:…:…:.

Rei sighed, staring at the clock as their history teacher droned about something to do with the Ancient Romans that nobody particularly cared about. Where was Judai? He was in this class too. Last she'd seen him, Haou had been dragging him to class, so where was he?

_/Rei-chan, don't worry. I'm sure nothing bad has happened to him, maybe he just… I dunno, went somewhere, or transferred classes or something. Who knows? Maybe he's even cutting. /_ Asuka tried to reassure her weapon, who was becoming even more worried by the second.

Rei nodded. Cutting History class definitely sounded like Judai, but she somehow doubted Haou would let him. _/Yeah, you're probably right… but still…. /_

She smiled ruefully. _/I'm just being silly. /_

Asuka smiled from her perch inside Rei's mind. _/Yup, don't worry! Everything will be fi-/_ Her eyes widened as she felt a familiar prickling sensation on her neck. The feeling that meant….

A battle was being initiated?

She recognised one signature; that was Haou's magic, she knew it! But the other…. Her eyes widened. _/No!/_

_/Asuka? What's wrong? /_

_/Haou and Judai might be in trouble!/_

_/What?/_ Rei took action immediately; pretending to cough violently and grasp her chest, letting out huge, shuddery moans. Instantly, Stein stopped lecturing and turned his attention on the ravenette.

"Miss Saotome? Are you all right?" He asked worriedly, although the natural boring tone of his voice cancelled out all signs of anxiety.

"N-no sir…." Rei managed to choke out; inside her mind Asuka was applauding her skills at faking sick. Rei was an excellent actress! Fake tears welled up in her soft brown eyes, and she clutched her head in an over-the-top manner as she continued to cough.

"Miss Saotome, head over to the nurse's office," Stein suggested monotonously, pointing to the door. "If you feel half as bad as you look, you should take the rest of the day off."

Rei nodded weakly; and stood up, taking shaky steps towards the door. "T-thank you, sensei…." She croaked, and stepped out the door. As soon as it slammed shut behind her, she took up her usual posture and grinned. _/Score one for Rei-chan! Asuka, what were you saying?/_

_/Haou and Judai must be fighting! Head that way!/ _she sent a mental image of the left corridor into Rei's mind. The ravenette nodded.

_/Got it! Thanks, Asu-chan!/_ Rei said mentally as she sprinted down the hallway.

.:…:…:…:.

"Ryo?"

The blunette- Sho's older brother, Ryo- nodded. "Yeah. Didn't know _you_ were a weapon, Judai." Judai's eyes flew to the spirit standing beside Ryo, who was grinning childishly as if he'd just caught them in a game of tag. Haou growled, and took a protective step in front of Judai.

"I didn't know you were, either!" Judai gabbled; why Ryo? Why did it have to be _Ryo_ of all people? First his teacher, then his friend, then his _best friend's older brother_? Someone up there must really hate him. "I mean… wow! It's just, umm…."

Haou raised an eyebrow at Judai's…. verbal flailing? That was new. _"Judai, who is this guy?"_ Ryo shrugged.

"Ryo Marufuji. If you know Sho, I'm his older brother. This," he glanced at the spirit. "Is-"

"_Fubuki Tenjōin, baby!"_ The spirit crowed, pumping a fist in the air. _"I'm in it to win it, so just give it up already!"_

Judai and Haou stared at Fubuki, who immediately swapped from confidence to confusion. _"Umm…. I know I'm sexy, but can you stop staring?" _He sweatdropped. _"Ryo, they're staring at me weird!"_ He ducked behind the blunette, who let out a sigh of irritation.

"Did you say…Tenjōin?" Judai asked, blinking.

**Buh-Buh-buh-Buhmm! And that's ch4! I'm whizzing through this! And next time, it's Judai and Haou vs. Ryo and Fubuki! Please review on your way out!**

**By the by, thanks to Yuri 'n' Chuka for your suggestion…. But by that point, as you can see, I'd already decided Ryo and Fubuki. Actually, it was kind of creepy for you to suggest Ryo to be next, because I'd already written this. Thanks again, though! But, yes, Judai and Haou just like arguing. Or something. Maybe. Oh, and Kuro? That would be very, very helpful. While you're at it, could you get one for Johan as well? Or three. Maybe one for me, too? Thanks. **

**Thanks also to chrisandersenyuki; glad you liked it! Also quite creepy that you suggested Ryo and Fubuki; I just sort of stared at that comment like O.O "omfg are they psychic?" **

**And, Berry Doyle! Glad you like it, I love getting those kinds of reviews *Smiles* In my opinion, you can NEVER be too cruel to Manjoume (you're right, he's hilarious in the dub! "Chazz it up! Chazz it up!" Lol). **

**Chapter five WILL be up soon! Probably later today or tomorrow, actually. I'm just doing the finishing touches. ;P Please review on your way out!  
**~Oak-chan


	6. Chapter 5: Brothers

_**Still don't own…. (All I want for Christmas is Yu-Gi-Oh GX….and Final Fantasy XIII. But that's beside the point. )**_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_Judai to Haou_

_/Rei to Asuka/_

_/Asuka to Rei/_

_Chapter 5: Brothers_

Fubuki blinked, watching Judai from his spot leaning against Ryo. _"Yeah? Why?"_

Judai pressed on. "Tenjōin, as in, Asuka Tenjōin?"

"Yeah….? She's my little sister. You know her?" Fubuki tilted his head to one side, as if thinking. "Is she in the competition?"

Judai shrugged. "Was. She-"

And, just like that, the smile was gone. _"Whaddaya mean, __**was?**__! Was she eliminated? Did __**you **__eliminate her?"_ Pure rage shone in Fubuki's eyes, as he balled his fists. _"My god, if you've hurt her, I swear, I'll-"_

Ryo groaned, and clamped a hand over Fubuki's mouth. "Please excuse my not-so intelligent friend. But, he has every right to be worried. Actually, he's been going on about whether or not Asuka's okay since the start of the competition. It's a little bit of an obsession."

Haou nodded. _"Right. But she's fine. She surrendered the competition."_

Fubuki managed to pull Ryo's hand off his mouth. _"Surrender? She would never- oh, wait. Actually, she would. Never mind."_

Ryo, Haou and Judai all simultaneously sweatdropped. _ Is this guy for real?_

_-I think he is….-._

Ryo frowned. "Idiot."

"_I heard that!"_

The brunette spirit eyed Haou, and scooted behind Ryo, pushing him out in front. _"The little kid look-alike's glaring at me! I know he is!" _He poked his head out from behind the blunette, staring at Haou. _"Who are you, anyway? His twin brother returned from the dead to annoy him for the rest of time?"_

Judai shook his head. "Nope, I'm an only child. We still don't know why we look so alike…."

Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Close relation?"

Haou raised an eyebrow. _"Yeah, right. I lived over four hundred years ago, give or take a few centuries."_ Judai spun around the face the spirit in shock.

"Seriously? Four hundred?"

Fubuki crinkled his nose. _"Ewww, you're like, ancient! Sorry, I don't fight old men-"_ He backed down immediately after seeing the look of anger on Haou's face. In other words, the giant, red, pulsing vein was there, as well as the clenched fist and generally evil look.

"_I died young!"_

"_Suuuuuure you did." _Fubuki grinned, slinging an arm around Ryo. _"So, wanna fight? Winner takes it!" _He glanced at the fuming blunette beside him. _"Where __**is **__it?"_

Ryo glanced sideways at Fubuki. "Don't lean on me! Anyway, it's here." He managed to unstring the chain and pull it off his neck with one hand, holding it up. It was a pale, almost icy coloured blue gem in the shape of a rhombus, almost like a tiny chunk of diamond. "We have two others as well, from other spirits."

Haou walked over to Judai, about to grab their necklace, when Judai jumped backwards, hand clutched protectively to the clasp. "I CAN GET IT!" The sun-eyed spirit raised an eyebrow as Judai stood awkwardly under the gaze of the three others. "I… I mean… last time you nearly choked me!" he said defensively.

Haou just looked bored. _"No I didn't."_

"Yeah, yeah, deny it all you want….." Judai showed their own, golden sun symbol; the chain dangling loosely off his fingers. "We have two more as well. Where are they, anyway?" Haou pointed wordlessly to Judai's pocket, and the weapon quickly reached in and pulled out the two other crystals. "Yeah, here!"

Fubuki stared at the pale blue heart shape. _"I'm guessing that's Asuka's."_

Judai nodded. "Bingo. Yours?"

Ryo glanced at Fubuki, and sighed. "He's got them. In his 'true' form."Fubuki rubbed his hands together with glee.

"_Okay! Let's get this party started! Ryo!" _

Haou glanced at Judai. _"You ready for this?"_ Judai nodded, suddenly feeling sick at the thought of fighting Ryo.

"_Let's do this!"_

.:…:…:…:.

Rei hurried down the hallway; she could hear voices now. Asuka was urging her to hurry up; she seemed to be both worried and excited about something at the same time.

_/Rei-chan! Hurry!/_

_/I am!/_

She turned the corner, eye widening as she saw the flashes of both gold and icy blue light erupting from the corridor. As she disappeared into the glow, their own pale azure light joined the mix.

When Rei opened her eyes, it seemed nothing had changed. Until she saw the spirits.

Asuka stood facing one of the older people; a boy with shoulder-length hair and matching chocolatey brown eyes. He wore a long, white overcoat with blue trimmings and a high collar; underneath a black turtleneck shirt and jeans. He wore a huge smirk on his face; radiating confidence.

The boy next to him, Rei recognised as Ryo, Sho's older brother. He was known as "Kaiser Ryo" among the students – mainly for his personality and skills in almost anything he did. He just looked bored, but interested by the other party. Rei's eyes widened as she saw that he was translucent.

Judai was there, too, just as Rei had seen him before, except he, like Ryo, was completely transparent. He caught her eye and gave a small smile before turning back to Haou, who stood beside him, fully decked out in his medieval armour gear, sword at his side and the necklace somehow having moved from Judai's hand to his neck.

As for Asuka? She was now in an outfit somewhat similar to the first boy's; a white sleeveless shirt with blue trimmings and a high collar, as well as a matching blue miniskirt and boots. She also had a form of blue gloves on; they cut off just below her fingers. She appeared completely solid.

Fubuki glanced backwards, and as soon as he saw Asuka his grin widened. "Asuka! Long time no see!"

Asuka's gaze split into a smile. "Nii-chan? I thought it was you." She glanced at Ryo, then Judai and Haou. "You're fighting Judai and Haou?"

Fubuki frowned, crossing his arms in a mock pout. "Don't I get a hug?" Asuka grinned, and rushed forward to glomp her brother. They went tumbling to the floor, laughing. Ryo's lips twitched, but he didn't smile.

"_So you're the famous Asuka. I've heard enough about you."_ He said in steely tones. Asuka and Fubuki both looked up, and the brunette muttered something in his sister's ear, who giggled and moved to, in turn, whisper something in his. And soon after he blushed and pushed her off, muttering something about stupid little sisters who couldn't keep themselves out of other people's business.

Haou growled, staring over in Ryo and Fubuki's general direction. "Are we going to fight? Or just keep on playing 'Happy Family Reunions'?" He glared pointedly for effect.

Fubuki grinned, and stood up to face Haou. "Hey, what is this? Did you die on Halloween or something?" His grin wilted at Haou's expression. An expression that screamed 'oh, you are so fucking dead!' He blinked. "Point taken. Let's go."

By this point, Rei and Asuka had moved to the side to stay out of the way, whereas Ryo and Judai were standing next to their respective spirits.

Fubuki grinned. "I'm going first!" As he pushed his hand forward, it glowed blue and the air around him instantly froze into tiny shards of ice. "Try this on for size!" he yelled; the ice shot forward like tiny bullets, some hitting the floor where they were instantly wedged in place. Haou's eyes widened, and he leapt backwards to avoid the attack. He landed neatly on both feet, but the ground still had the shards of ice imbedded into it. Rei, Asuka and Judai's eyes all bulged simultaneously. Fubuki's grin only widened.

"Nice. Not many people have been able to dodge that. But how about…." He clenched his fist, the blue glow turning darker. "_-this!_" The shards on the ground extended out; freezing the floor and creating a sheet of ice that spread out to where Haou was and froze the corridor over. Haou took a step forward; his foot slipped slightly on the ice. Eyes narrowing, he looked up at Fubuki who stared back at him confidently.

"Hope you know how to ice-skate, 'coz you're gonna need it!" he crowed, laughing at the dumbstruck look on Judai's face. Haou just growled, reaching for his sword.

"I'm not done," the sun-eyed brunette held the blade loosely in his hand. "Hell, I haven't even _started_!" He lunged forward as a golden colour shot across the ice; melting it and clearing a path. Haou lifted his sword and struck forward at Fubuki; he moved to the side to evade the attack. Haou's eyes narrowed as he followed through with a kick. Metal plated boot slammed into Fubuki's side; he let out a cough as he slammed into the wall and slid weakly to the ground.

Judai grinned. _"Way to go, Haou!" _he called as Rei pumped a fist in the air and yelled; _"Nice one, champ!" _

Asuka bit her lip. "Onii-chan? Are you okay?" Fubuki glanced at Asuka and grinned, sending her a 'thumbs-up'.

"No sweat, sis. I'm fine. Though I'm probably going to feel that tomorrow….." He clambered to his feet, eyeing Haou with a smirk. "Okay, you're better than my _last_ opponent…. He went down at the ice shard trick. Consider yourself lucky, because so far I haven't had to use my ace!" Fubuki moved his arm as if punching someone, but Haou had already moved. "Here we go!"

The ice particles on the ground leapt skywards and compacted together to form a giant glacier. "Here!" Without a further word of warning, the ball of ice flew towards Haou, who ducked and glanced behind him as it smashed against the wall, sending a shower of ice pieces onto him. He frowned as he brushed the frost off of him.

Suddenly, Judai stared back at Fubuki, and his eyes widened. _"HAOU!"_

The spirit spun around in time to see a sharp, pointed icicle slam into the ground beside him. Eyes wide and heart pounding, he stepped back to dodge another. A number of icicles flew towards him; they could slice right through him! Haou lifted his sword to deflect one shard; and sliced another in two. Fubuki just laughed at the increasingly frantic Haou. "Yup! And I haven't even brought out my ace yet!" he stopped forming icicles, and glanced at Asuka. She seemed torn; as if not sure who she wanted to win.

"Sis?"

Ryo reached forward and yelled. _"Fubuki! There!"_ the brunette turned back as a huge wave of golden light slammed into him; knocking him to the ground with a painful thud. His eyes widened as he coughed; the taste of iron filled his mouth as he choked out blood.

"_Fubuki!"_ "Onii-chan!" Ryo and Asuka yelled out concurrently, watching as Fubuki struggled to his feet, only to fall down again.

"Oww." Fubuki said simply, as blood trickled down his chin. "That….. really hurt. Strong magic…." He glanced back at Ryo, whose shock and worry was illuminated on his face. Fubuki smiled softly. "Sorry, Ryo. I got careless. I'll be more careful, that's going to hurt you, too…."

"_It's not me I'm worried about, idiot!"_ Ryo yelled, glaring at Haou, who merely shrugged and smirked.

"Hey, he was the careless one. He should have been paying attention-"

"_Haou!"_ Everyone stared at Judai, who was staring at Haou with such anger on his face that it was hard to believe anyone was capable of it._ "He wasn't even on guard! He was distracted, that was fighting dirty!"_

Haou's eyes widened. "_How_?" he protested, turning all attention to Judai.

Judai glowered_. "It just was. He couldn't see that coming."_

"Wha- _he's our enemy, Judai!_"

"_He's __**your**__ enemy, Haou!"_

Asuka rushed to Fubuki while Haou and Judai were squabbling and helped him to his feet.

"_Asuka, what're you doing?" _Rei called, catching both Haou and Judai's attention. They turned to see what was going on, and saw Asuka standing with one arm supporting Fubuki, the other holding a bright blue bow that seemed to be glowing.

Haou stared at her in bemusement as Fubuki's eyes widened, and he began to object. "Asuka, no! This is my fight!" he said hopelessly as Asuka let go of him, pulling a shimmering, azure arrow out of seeming nothingness and strung it to the bowstring. "Asuka?"

"Haou…" she muttered, and pulled the arrow back. "You'll pay for hurting my onii-chan!" She released it; and the arrow shot forward so quickly that it just looked like a streak of blue light.

"Asuka!" Rei yelled, as Haou reached forward and grabbed the arrow in his hand. He cringed at the force behind the attack; but tried not to let it show as the glow faded. Haou growled; snapping the arrow in two and letting it fall to the floor.

"Stay out of this," He snarled, eyes flashing ominously. "You have nothing to do with this." Asuka didn't back down, instead stringing up her bow again. Fubuki reached forward and gently took her wrist, pulling it away from the bow.

"Sis, please. This is my fight. Thanks, but…" he smiled softly. "I don't wanna see you get hurt."

"But Onii-chan-" the blonde started to protest, but Fubuki cut her off.

"Sis, it's _okay_. Really." The defiant glint in Asuka's eyes told him that she didn't believe him. Fubuki sighed, and turned to face the blunette. "Ryo-"

He nodded. _"I know." _Ryo stepped forward and took Asuka by the other arm, pulling her back out of the way of the fight. _"Asuka, please. Stay here."_

Asuka frowned but didn't argue. Fubuki turned back to Haou. "Okay! Nice shot. Cheap shot, but nice shot. I won't fall for that one again."

Haou just smirked. "We'll see. My move!" He flung his hand forward and a beam of gold light shot forward. Fubuki ducked and let it slam into the wall behind him, whistling at the force behind the impact. Because where there was once white plasterboard, there was now a gaping hole.

Judai's eye twitched as Rei cringed. Haou's smirk only widened. "Nice… but let's see you do that again!" Instead of moving forward, he raised his hand skyward as tiny points of white light surrounded him in a circle. Grinning, he swung his arm frontward and the lights shot towards Fubuki as huge beams of gold-tinged white light.

Fubuki's eyes widened; there were at least twenty… he couldn't dodge them all! He ducked and dodged, weaving in-between as many of the lights as he could and letting them destroy the wall behind him. "Damn-" Eyes widened as a blast of the white light slammed into him; it sent him flying backwards and crashing into the wall behind him. Fubuki groaned but didn't move; more blood trickled down his chin.

Haou smirked, pulling his sword out of its sheath and walked over to Fubuki as the others watched in shock. He pointed the blade at Fubuki's neck; ignoring both Asuka's and Judai's cries to stop. "I win," he murmured, pressing the sword tip into the fallen spirit's skin. A small bead of blood appeared as he watched Haou though lidded, hazy brown eyes. "You lose."

"_Haou!"_ Judai called, and the sun-eyed spirit glanced back at Judai, sighing as if remembering something, and removed the blade from Fubuki's neck.

"You're lucky," he muttered, re-sheathing the sword. "That Judai made me promise not to destroy anyone." Judai blinked, then grinned.

"_So you __**were**__ listening!"_

"Look, just _shut up_. I only agreed to get you to stop whining, anyway!"

"_Still promised!"_

"Shut it, brat!"

Asuka and Ryo walked over to help Fubuki to his feet. The brunette grinned, leaning against Ryo. "You were worried about me, huh, Ryo?" he smirked, slinging an arm around the blunette's shoulders.

Ryo looked away, but didn't push Fubuki off. _"Maybe."_

"Maybe meaning yes."

"_Shut up."_

"Heh…." Fubuki looked over at Haou and Judai, who were still arguing, but somehow the topic of argument had moved from the promise not to destroy anybody to getting lost on the way to class, the competition, and life itself. "Guess I lost, huh? That pipsqueak's tougher than he looked…."

Fubuki looked back at Asuka. "Thanks for trying to help me, by the way, sis." She nodded.

"Yeah…. Nii-chan…." She glanced back at Haou. "He…. Haou…. He's really strong….."

Fubuki paused, lost in thought. "Haou? Haou…. I've heard of him…. Wow. No wonder I lost."

Ryo blinked in confusion_. "Why's that? Who's Haou?"_

Fubuki grinned, nuzzling into the crook of Ryo's neck. "He's a legend in the spirit realm…. Not sure what for…. He's just famous…. Apparently he was really important when he was alive…. Again, not sure why."

He looked up as the background noise (AKA Haou and Judai arguing) faded, and the two near-identical brunettes stared at them. Fubuki grinned and waved. "Hey! You won, so get over here!"

Haou and Judai came over, Judai somewhat nervously and Haou with a huge, victorious smirk. Ryo growled and dropped their three pendants into Haou's hand. _"Here."_ He muttered, watching Haou with an expression of loathing. Haou clasped his hand over them, still smirking.

"So, Fubuki, right?" He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Back to the spirit realm, then."

Judai blinked. _"Does he have to go back to the spirit realm? Couldn't he just stay here?"_

Haou sweatdropped. "Um… yes… but it's against the rules….." he regained his composure quickly. "He's going back! It's not destroying, so what're you complaining about?" Judai pointed wordlessly at Ryo and Fubuki; Fubuki was leaning onto Ryo with his arm slung around his neck and Ryo had his arm wrapped around Fubuki's waist.

"_They probably wouldn't see each other again…"_

"So? Not my problem!"

Rei glanced at Judai and smirked. _/I think Haou's screwed./_

Asuka blinked. _/Why?/_

_/Because at this rate…./ _her smirk widened. _/He'll be exposed to the 'Super Judai Puppy-Dog Eyes of Doom'./_

Judai stared at Haou, pouting slightly and making himself seem as small, cute and adorable as possible. Haou sweatdropped. _"Haou…. Don't be mean…."_

Haou's eye twitched. _–The hell is he doing? -_ "Judai-"

"_Haou, please?" _

"Judai…."

Blink.

"Umm…."

Pout.

"Fine! He can stay! Just stop staring at me like that!" Haou threw his hands in the air and stalked away, pocketing the pendants. Judai immediately dropped the puppy-dog act.

"_Score." _

Fubuki and Ryo just grinned.

**There, nice long chappie, see? Up quickly, too. Three pages longer than my standard. I was in a good mood. Next chapters a little different….. Yeah, Fubuki and Ryo are gonna hang around, and the Super Judai Puppy Dog Eyes of Doom (™) card has been played. Haou has a weakness. (Judai doesn't often use the puppy eyes thanks to the damage it causes to his a, dignity and b, ego.)**

**Also, I've been thinking about whether or not I should do a little side-story every five or so chapters. Just for a little fun? Any opinions on that? Because I really wanna test my creative writing skills. (I'm such an idiot! I nearly uploaded my SOSE assignment by mistake! DX) **

**To: **_**Yuri 'n' Chuka: **_**O.O ….meep. Kuro…. Are you still alive….? *hears muffled groans* guess so. Akari-chan, how could you be so mean to poor Kuro and Marik? Marik won't get no candy from Kuro *pouts*. Glad you liked to chapter! (And Kuro, if you survive, you are very welcome here. Just watch out for….*gulp*, Severus, our resident three-headed man-eating giant dog. And his owner, Oakley, who is somewhat worse.) **

_**Luvingrandomness**_**: I think Ryo is, too. Oh well. Glad you enjoyed!**

_**Chrisandersenyuki: *gasps* **_**I would **_**never**_** kill off those two! But thanks! And hope you enjoyed this chap, too!  
**_**Felina Snow: :D Fubuki's one of my faves, too. Was that good? I think I suck at fight scenes, but I'm trying!**_

**Thanks to all who reviewed, and visitors please drop a review on your way out! I feed off reviews! (Yum…. Reviews…. :3) *waves***


	7. OMAKE: Reflections

_**I don't own! **_

_Judai to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_**:/AN/: Quick note; Judai's about fifteen in this fic. Just thought I'd tell you. **_

_Omake: Reflections_

Judai sat at his desk, sifting through a pile of papers. Every now and then, he'd put one aside, but mainly he'd just drop them back at the bottom of the heap. Haou appeared next to him in spirit form; he glanced at the papers and grimaced.

_-What is this?-_

_Work._

_-Aren't you supposed to be at school right now?-_

_It's Saturday. _

_-So you're sitting here sifting through paper. I would've thought you'd be out doing something constructive.-_

_Such as?_

_-….I don't know, I'm not you…-_

There was a few minutes silence, until Judai sighed and leant back in his chair. _Ahh, what the hell._

_-What were you doing, anyway?-_

_Looking._

_-For?-_

_My assignment._

_-On?-_

_Something. It's due Monday. _

_-So shouldn't you have done it by now?-_

_That's not how homework __**works.**_

Judai stood up, walked over to the closet and slid his shoes on. _–What're you doing __**now**__?-_

_I'm going out._

_-Where?-_

_How should I know?_

_-So it's a spur of the moment thing?-_

_Whatever that means._

_-You're in a bad mood.-_

_Sure…._

Judai headed down the stairs and out the front door with Haou trailing aimlessly behind him. The two walked down the road in silence until they came to a stop outside a park roughly ten minutes later. Without a word of explanation, Judai led Haou to the deserted playground and took a seat on one of the swings. He pushed himself off the ground and let himself move back and forth slowly in the breeze. Haou watched him quietly before asking; _-Why are we here?-_

Judai stopped swinging to look at Haou. _I used to come here when I was little. It's sort of a trip down memory lane, if you catch my drift._

Haou blinked. _–But what's so special about a playground?-_

Judai paused, as if thinking how best to phrase what he was going to say next. _Well, when I came here, I always used to see this kid around my age, and we always used to play together. I think it's safe to say he was my best friend back then. We told each other everything, trusted each other… But, one day, he stopped coming. He just disappeared. That was maybe seven years ago. _

Judai let out a hollow laugh. _I didn't even get his name, or if I did, I forgot it. Sad, isn't it? But I can't forget him. Sometimes, when I'm feeling depressed, I can just see his face, smiling at me out of nowhere. I can't get him out of my head….._

Haou blinked. _–Is that what this is about?-_

_Sort of. It's just something I do. I come here. Fact is, I've started coming here even when I just want to think about something. _Judai closed his eyes; letting the breeze play with his hair.

Haou sat down on the swing next to him, unaffected by the wind. He stared at Judai with golden eyes. _–Oh.-_

Judai opened his eyes and took a sidelong glance at Haou. _Did you ever have anyone like that in your life? Someone you trusted more than anything? Back when you were alive? _

Haou paused; remembering the past. He frowned; golden irises hardening. _–Yes.-_

_What were they like?_

_-Nnn. I don't care to remember.-_

_What do you mean?_

_-I just want to forget about them.-_

_Why?_

_-They….. betrayed me.-_

Judai blinked. _How?_

_-Does it really matter? I'd rather not talk about it.-_

Judai stared down at the ground. _Oh. So it was pretty bad, huh?_

_-I said I didn't want to talk about it. - _Haou replied coldly.

_Haou! You can't just leave me hanging! Something small?_

–_I trusted them, they let me down. Big time. That's it.- _

Judai paused. _You don't trust easy, do you? That's why you wanted to destroy them. The other spirits, I mean. And that's why you didn't want to talk to Rei, Asuka, Ryo or Fubuki, either, isn't it? Because you don't want to form any bonds with them. I'm right, aren't I?_

Haou didn't reply.

_Haou?_

The sun-eyed spirit didn't say anything; instead staring at his hands in silence.

_Haou? What is it? _

_-It's nothing.-_

_Nothing is something. Did I say something wrong?_

_-It's nothing you did. I'm just remembering….. things.-_

Haou blocked out Judai; creating a mental barrier so his weapon couldn't hear what he was about to say next.

_-You idiot….I loved you, so why did you have to….-_ He gazed at the sky; seeing his beloved's face smiling back at him.

**Yups! And that was my first Omake. Didja like it? And can anyone guess who either Haou or Judai's person was? **

**Anyway, regular story next time. This was just a shortish thing I wanted to write. I haven't decided whether or not I want it that Judai-random little kid thing to have anything to do with the actual storyline, or if it's just a little subplot for this chappie. The Haou thing is, though. **

**Yeah, and since Judai's roughly fifteen here, that would make him about eight when he was the little kid. Please review on your way out!**

_~Oak-chan_

**(By the by, chap 6 should be up either later today or tomorrow. Due to lack of schoolwork –actually, I'm still getting it; I'm just not doing it- I'm whizzing through the chapters. I just need to edit/proofread this chap^^)**


	8. Chapter 6: Competitors

_**Still don't own…. Never will…. If I did, I'd remake it…. Manjoume would have a horrible accident…. So would Cronos….. Haou and Jehu would appear a helluva lot more…. Spiritshipping, darkshipping and idolshipping FTW! And there'd be blood. Lots of blood. And death. (I'm a sadist.)**_

_**:/AN/: BTB, yeah there might be a touch of swearing from now on.**_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan))_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

_Chapter 6: Competitors_

The limp body was dropped to the ground; splashing blood while the eyes rolled back lifelessly. The blunette grinned wolfishly; amber eyes flashing from within the shadow. The other sprit dropped to his knees, blood trickling down his face as the figure stepped closer. "You…."he grinned, pointing a blade at the fallen spirit's neck. "….really have no idea what you're fucking with, do you?"

With a quick, slashing motion, he slit their neck and let blood gush onto the floor. "I win. You lose." His grin widened as he picked up two bloodstained pendants off the ground. "Permanently."

He glanced back at the weapon behind him; a translucent boy that looked so much like him. He was leaning against the wall with his arms folded and his eyes closed. He looked like he was trying to sleep. The spirit's wolfish grin was replaced with a soft smile of sympathy. He walked over to the boy and took him by the shoulders, shaking him slightly. "Jo-chan, it's time to wake up!"

The smaller blunette began to stir; his eyes opened to reveal stunning, emerald green orbs. _"Jehu…."_

Jehu tapped Johan on the forehead. "C'mon, sleepyhead. I won, so let's go!"

Johan's eyes shot open as he pushed himself off the wall. _"Jehu! What's the time? We have to catch that train_!" Jehu tilted his head to one side.

"It's leaving in…..five minutes? We've got plenty of time." Johan nodded, and took a step forward, rubbing his eyes.

"_Thanks…. I'm so sleepy…."_ He yawned as Jehu took his arm and started to lead him towards the train station. They'd originally been hidden in an abandoned tunnel, but their stop was close by.

Jehu frowned. Johan hadn't been sleeping well, and it was really beginning to show. He was slowly turning into an insomniac, all thanks to pressure from his father on his studies, and the fact that he wanted Johan to learn violin. Johan had only gotten to sleep the previous night at roughly one a.m., and it was six thirty now. "Johan, let _me_ take over for the day. You get some sleep, yeah?"

Johan stared up at his spirit through lidded eyes. _"Thanks, Jehu…."_ A flash of light, and Jehu stood in Johan's body, with the weapon sound asleep in the back of his mind. He passed by a window, and saw his reflection in the glass. Glowing amber eyes stared back at him, and he sighed and reached into his pocket. He held a small glass vial; inside was water and two emerald green contact lenses. The decorative type. He quickly slid them in without anyone noticing and went off on his way.

Blinking back tears, he slid his ticket into the machine, and with an affirmative _ping_!, he boarded the train. He'd had to get those lenses, because Johan had needed to sleep so badly so often that Jehu would just take over. Of course, green eyes suddenly turning orange wasn't going to go unnoticed, so he'd 'borrowed' the lenses to hide it. Johan still didn't know where he'd got them. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

In Jehu's opinion, Johan's father was a total bastard. He supposed that was why it was a good thing that they had moved to go and live with his mother, who had divorced his father over seven years ago. Good thing, too, because Johan literally had to restrain Jehu from killing the bastard.

Today was Johan's first day at his new school, 'Hikari High'. Unfortunately, Johan wasn't up to it. So Jehu was taking over for today.

The blunette stared out the window, sighing as the cityscape flashed before his eyes. Holding back a yawn, he waited for the next stop.

.:…:…:…:.

Late. First day, and he was already late. Jehu cursed his bad sense of direction; maps these days were _so annoying!_ Blue straight lines, green squiggly lines, red zigzagging lines…. Yellow dots and other crap like that…. Who could be expected to understand all of it?

It was already five past nine, and as he rushed through the empty corridors to Johan's classroom he couldn't help but wonder if it was even worth all this fuss just to go to school. Okay, sure, there was the bonus of beating those two spirits that morning (They thought teaming up would help them…. Sad.), and the possibility of running into more spirits at school (he only had eleven pendants, he really needed to catch up!), but still, what if he just cut and went weapon hunting? No-one would really notice him gone….

Jehu immediately cringed at the thought of what Johan would do to him if he cut class. There would be a lot of yelling, and a lot less freedom. Sort of like in-mind grounding. It had happened before. _((Room 302….. 302….. that's 300….. 301….303? What?)) _He backtracked, and found himself staring at room _302_, Johan's allotted homeroom.

_((Okay…. You could cut now… no! It's too late now! Here goes nothing….))_ He reached out to knock on the door. _((If they make me do math they're all dead.))_ He knocked roughly against the wood, letting out a small banging noise. The door swung open and a woman with an overly large smile stared down at him. "Oh, you must be Johan! Come on in, we've been waiting for you!"

Jehu sweatdropped. _((O-kay…..))_ "I'm Emi Ayukawa, by the way." Jehu nodded; couldn't she see he didn't _care_? "Class, this is our new transfer, Johan Anderson. Make him feel welcome!" Jehu eyed the crowd with a small frown. Everyone looked…. Relatively boring….. Until he locked onto a brunette with chocolatey brown eyes. His own eyes widened. He… that kid…. Adorable, and he looked like-

Jehu grinned. "Hey." He waved, and most students said hi back. Ayukawa nodded, and said,

"Johan, sit next to…. Judai. Mr. Yuki?"

The brunette boy from before raised his hand, waving at Jehu. "Over here!" he pointed to the empty desk next to him. Jehu's grin only widened as he sat next to Judai.

"Hey, I'm Judai. Johan, right? Nice to meet ya." Judai grinned welcomingly.

"Yup, I'm Johan. Ayukawa's…. a bit…. Full on, don't'cha think?" Jehu placed Johan's backpack on the ground next to the desk.

Judai rolled his eyes. "Don't I know it." Jehu paused, trying to feel Johan's presence. He let out a small sigh. Asleep. Still? It had been over two and a half hours…. Then again, he should probably cut the kid some slack. His hand brushed the pendants in his pocket- one was theirs; he had chosen not to wear it because he would be considerably weakened with Johan asleep. It would be suicide to challenge anyone. Still, that didn't prevent him from searching for opponents to take on later…..

Jehu blinked sleepily; Johan wasn't the only one who needed to catch up on sleep. If he survived this class, maybe he could go and nap in some corridor during the break period. Stifling a yawn by biting the inside of his cheek, he stared at the board while the teacher started drawing some mathematical symbols on it. He still didn't understand algebra, and the fact that Johan did made him a genius in Jehu's eyes. This sort of thing didn't exist in his time; back then being able to count, add, subtract, figure out distances and work with basic currency got you where you needed to go in life. Where would you need to know how to work out what _x_ meant? Or what the perimeter of a triangle was? Jehu only knew _that _much because he was there when Johan did his cram studying.

He couldn't stop his eyes from closing; he folded his arms on the table and laid his head down. _((Five minutes. That's it. Five…. Ahh, screw it.))_ That was his last thought before he fell asleep.

.:…:…:…:.

"Mr. Anderson?"

Jehu fidgeted slightly. "Nnn?"

"Mr. Anderson. I'm talking to you!"

He frowned; who was that? Couldn't they see he was trying to _sleep_? "Shut it…." He murmured, nestling his head further into his arms. _((God, what a-))_ Suddenly, he was wrenched out of his thoughts by someone grabbing his ear. Hard.

His eyes shot open as he was roughly pulled up and found himself face to face with a very annoyed Ayukawa. "Yes, Mr. Anderson? Didn't catch that last part, I'm afraid."

_((Oops…..))_

He heard Johan shifting in the back of his mind. _(…..Jehu….? What's going on….?)_

Jehu sweatdropped. _((Nothing. Go back to sleep.)) _He stared up at Ayukawa, smiling sweetly. "Ye-e-e-es? May I help you?"

Ayukawa smiled back just as sweetly. "Sure!" Suddenly the smile was gone, and she pulled even harder on his ear. "By paying attention in class!"

"Oww!"

She released him and stood back, glowering. "We're not off to a very good start, Mr. Anderson."

Jehu rubbed his ear, scowling. "Yeah, tell me about it. My ear _hurts_!" Some of the other students giggled. He looked up at her. "I mean, seriously. Are teachers even allowed to do that?" Ayukawa's eye twitched.

"Detention. You can stay back after school with Mr. Yuki." She stalked over to the board, and pointed to one of the equations. "Now. If you would be so kind…." She glared at him pointedly.

_((Uh-oh.))_ Jehu sweatdropped. _((Johan, help. Wake up!)) _He stared at the board, trying to make sense of the jumble of numbers and letters. _((As in, __**now.**__)) _

_(Wha…. Jehu? What-)_

_((Equation. Board. Now.))_

Johan groaned from inside their mind. _(Thirty-six squared. Now shut up and leave me alone.)_ As soon as he'd finished, he dropped back into a state of unconsciousness. Jehu nodded and repeated what he'd just said to Ayukawa, who seemed satisfied. Jehu didn't understand a word of what he'd just said.

.:…:…:…:.

Somehow, Jehu managed to survive the rest of the school day without much incident. And he'd even located about five other pendant holders, ready for targeting and elimination. By this point, Johan had woken up, and a rather sheepish Jehu had to explain how he'd managed to _a) _get a detention and _b)_ get in Ayukawa's bad books on the first day. Understandably, that hadn't gone down very well. Unfortunately for Jehu, Johan was forcing him to take his detention for him.

_(You got it, so you can take it!) _He'd scolded, ignoring Jehu's heavy protests.

_((But Jo-chan!))_

_(No buts!)_

So he was stuck with the detention.

Joy.

Jehu sighed, staying at his allotted desk while watching all the other students leave. Why him? It was Ayukawa's fault, anyway. (Flawed logic FTW!) He glanced to the side. That boy – Judai, wasn't it? - was still sitting next to him. Oh, that's right. He'd gotten detention as well, hadn't he? Judging by the look of complete and utter boredom decorating his features, it wasn't the first time, either.

Jehu put his elbow on the table; using his hand to lean on. Okay, sure, so he'd gotten Johan detention before. Hell, forget eyes changing colour attracting attention; personalities changing worked just fine. Sometimes he wondered if the other spirits out there ended up taking as much care of _their_ weapons as he took of Johan. He was sure that they, at least, didn't sit detentions for them, whether they'd earned them or not.

Ayukawa leaned against the board, surveying the near-empty classroom. Only Judai and Jehu had stayed behind. She sighed. "Judai, you should know better than this by now. And Johan…. You should _know_ from your old school that talking back to the teacher and falling asleep in class is not acceptable behaviour!" Judai nodded.

"Yes, Miss Ayukawa."

Jehu remained silent, watching to see what would happen next. In his experience, different teachers gave different detentions. With some, he'd be off the hook by now. With others, he'd been forced to write out lines, pack up the class, help clean up the cafeteria, and a whole bunch of other stupid things. Ayukawa blinked. "All right, you two can clean up the classroom for today. Don't stay longer than six o'clock, because that's when I have to leave."

She left the room, leaving Jehu to wonder; _((Six o'clock? How long is she expecting us to clean this dump?)) _Seeing Jehu's look of confusion, Judai decided to explain.

"Ayukawa normally wants this place spotless during classroom cleaning detentions," the brunette explained, grabbing a dusting eraser and wiping the writing off the board. "You pick up the stuff on the floor, okay?" Jehu was about to open his mouth to argue – just who did that kid think he was, giving _him_ orders?-, but thought better of it when Johan snapped at him to just get to work.

Sighing, he bent over to pick up stray scraps of paper off the floor. _((Johan, you are so lucky you matter to me, or I'd have skipped out on this a __**long time ago.**__))_

.:…:…:…:.

Maybe an hour and a half later, they'd cleaned to both Judai and Johan's satisfactions (nowhere near Jehu's, he'd been convinced they were finished after about ten minutes.) And, okay, Jehu figured that Judai was an alright guy to be around, and he'd started deviously formulating plans in the back of his mind, where Johan couldn't see them.

Johan needed a social life…. He'd been somewhat lacking one back when he lived with his father in Norway (Yes, Norway. Yes, the competition spread that far around the world). So, as they were leaving, he turned to Judai with a smirk on his face. "Judai?"

"Yeah?"

Jehu's smirk widened, and Johan suddenly started to get a sense of impending doom. The one that had acted as a sixth sense ever since he'd synced with Jehu.

"We should hook up sometime!"

**Dun-Dun-Dun-Duhhhh! And Johan and Jehu are HERE! Yeah, Jehu stole the contacts, and he calls Johan Jo-chan (That just sounds like Yo-chan, really. Cause Johan sounds like Yohan?) and yeah, Johan lived in Norway with his parents, until his mom divorced his dad and moved to Japan. Now, he's moved to Japan to live with his mom. And Jehu's been taking care of Johan, since his dad sucks. But Jehu's a little more trouble than he's worth….. What's going to happen with Judai? And, yes, Jehu's slightly ahead of Haou in the competition, and more spirits are destroyed with him because Johan's normally too out of it to really notice the bloodshed that Jehu's causing. That might change, though…. **

***singing* **_**ai mai san cen, soryapunitte koto kai! Cho! Rappingu ga seifuku –**_** Oh, right. Bye! *waves* As usual, please drop a review on your way out! I need reviews! They help me BREATHE!**


	9. Chapter 7: Disaster Strikes

_**I don't own! **_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan)_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

_Chapter 7: Disaster Strikes (In more ways than one.)_

"_We should hook up sometime!"_

Jehu smirked as Judai stood absolutely still in complete and utter shock. Johan twitched violently inside his mind; fully preparing to strangle Jehu as soon as he got the chance. And inside Judai's mind? Unbeknownst to Jehu and Johan, Haou had started snickering uncontrollably in-between yelling rather profound and colourful choice words at 'Johan'. Oh, yeah, lovely spirit, isn't he?

_(J-Jehu!) _Johan, it seemed, was having trouble forming proper sentences. _(I….you….wha-)_

Jehu's smirk only widened. _((Yes, Jo-chan?))_

_(I…you….oh, just get out!)_ Johan threw Jehu out of control of his body, which was followed with a yelp from the latter. He stared at Judai, who had started blushing, and spun around. "Bye Judai-san!" he yelled, and bolted in the other direction. Jehu had burst out laughing, snickering hysterically at Johan's state of shock.

_((Jo-chan! Why'd you run? Don't you think Judai's __**cute**__?))_

_(Sh-shut up! Why the hell did you do that?)_

_((Nnn, you need a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend. At this stage, really, it doesn't matter.))_

_(But why __**Judai**__? We only just met him!)_

_((Wha? He's cute, right?))_

_(I reiterate, we only just met him! We could've been friends and now you went and ruined it! Why a guy, anyway?)_

_((Johan, face it. You aren't exactly the manliest guy around.)_

_(The hell is that supposed to mean?)_

All the while arguing with himself, Johan had arrived at the station and barged through onto the train, earning several strange looks from other passengers. Normally, he would either be mortified or would just wave it off with a 'peace' sign and a grin, but not today. Today, he was too busy working out how badly he was going to mutilate Jehu to care.

.:…:…:…:.

Life was boring. That's what Jehu thought. He barely had a life, so he was forced to live through Johan. In fact, the only real thrills he got were in the fights he had with other spirits. He sighed; staring at the ceiling of Johan's new room, in his mother's house. It was bigger than his old room, or it might just seem that way because his old room was always crammed back with things, and this one was almost empty and just full of cardboard boxed with Johan's stuff in them.

"Rubiii?" Jehu glanced at the ground, and sighed again as Johan's cat, Ruby, leapt onto the bed. He smiled half-heartedly. "Hey, girl." Ruby hissed, and immediately left the room. Jehu's smile vanished. That cat had always hated Jehu. She adored Johan, but she hated Jehu. He didn't even know if she could tell that he wasn't Johan, or if she even knew what was going on. They said animals could see things that humans couldn't, like spirits. Well, that was true enough. She could see either himself or Johan when they were in spirit form.

_((How,)) _he wondered, _((can that cat tell the difference between us? We look almost exactly the same…)) _

_(It's because she can just tell and differentiate spirits.) _Johan's disembodied voice flooded into Jehu's mind. The amber-eyed blunette raised an eyebrow as Johan appeared beside him in spirit form.

_((So you're awake.))_

_(So are you.)_

_((And your point is….?)_

_(Why?)_

_((Couldn't sleep.)) _That wasn't true. In reality, Jehu wasn't letting himself fall asleep, instead forcing himself to stay awake. He still hadn't forgotten that one time, when some spirit and weapon broke into their room in the middle of the night to try and steal their pendant back in Norway. Needless to say, they didn't steal anything again. They didn't do anything again. Jehu had made sure of that.

And Jehu wasn't prepared to let it happen again. He was too paranoid. So paranoid, that he rarely slept at night. He caught up on all lost sleep in the day. Johan sometimes called him a hypocrite for that; when Jehu himself scolded Johan for not sleeping and instead studying, and yet he didn't let himself sleep and didn't give Johan a say in the decision. He probably wouldn't get one, either.

_(Jehu…..)_

_((Mm?))_

_(You know I hate it when you make yourself stay awake like this. You're worrying mom, too….)_

Oh, that was right. Johan's mother, Andréa, had once walked in on Jehu during his stay-up-all-night scheme, and was worried about the fact that 'Johan' wasn't letting himself sleep. Jehu didn't see why she was so worried. It wasn't going to affect her in the long run, and he wasn't even Johan.

_((She can worry. What's up with you, anyway? You've been quiet all day, even when we were on the train home, it's fucking creepy!))_

_(Thinking. Wondering. Worrying.) _When Johan was deep in thought, he tended to give very vague answers, which never helped with Jehu's rather short temper.

_((Meaning __**what**__, exactly?))_

_(Judai.)_

_((Hah! I thought you'd like him!))_

_(Not that, you idiot! I mean, how he's going to act tomorrow. That wasn't subtle, or anything, and I-)_

_((Don't worry about it! You saw! He didn't get pissed, he was blushin'! I bet he-))_

_(Again, not that! I don't __**want**__ to hook up with Judai!)_

_((I know all! You dooooo!~)_

_(Shut up! I do not!)_

_((…sure.)) _

Spirit Johan pounced on Jehu, who immediately flipped them over so he was on top. _((Oh, you so asked for this.))_

Johan blinked. _(Eh?)_

Jehu grinned.

Johan flinched. There came that sense of impending doom again…..

That grin turned vicious. _((Torture time!))_

Johan couldn't help it. He burst out laughing as Jehu's fingers dug into and ran up his sides- the evillest form of torture known to man. Tickling. And though not many knew it, Johan was very, **very **ticklish.

Jehu did, though, and he took full advantage of it.

"_J-Jehu! Ahahahaha- cut it ou- haha!" _Johan managed to get before collapsing into another fit of giggles. _"JEHU!" _

Jehu paused; giving Johan a quick reprieve from his 'torture.' _((You are so lucky your mom can't hear you right now.))_ Johan looked up, teary eyed from mirth.

"_You think?" _Johan moved to get up, but his attempts failed miserably as Jehu was still straddling him to hold him down on the bed. _"Jehu, budge over." _

No matter what, Johan and Jehu could never stay mad at each other. In Jehu, Johan had found a friend he could tell absolutely everything and count on to help with absolutely anything, someone he could trust to catch him if he fell backwards. In Johan, Jehu had found the friend he never had, someone to help counter the loneliness and the pain that had stayed with him when he died. They, even if they weren't spirit and weapon, would be totally inseparable.

In that sense, Johan wasn't afraid of death. Because he knew that Jehu would be there, waiting for him.

Best friends forever, right?

.:…:…:…:.

Catching the train, Jehu decided, was a total waste of time. Wait in line to buy a ticket (they still hadn't sorted out Johan's pre-paid quick travel pass), wait in line to get on the train, wait on the train for ages until you reach your stop, wrestle your way off the train under a time limit, then fight your way up the stairs, show your ticket to another machine (provided you haven't lost it by that point), then leave, hoping for the life of you you're at the right place. Okay, so it was a little more complicated than that, but that was the general idea.

Completely and utterly pointless.

Yet Johan still felt the need to wait in lines, wait on trains, wrestle his way off trains and fight his way up stairs every morning and every afternoon on school days. Jehu had yet to see the logic. Why? Why, when he could just walk? Albeit up a hill, which a cable-car he transferred to after the first train took him up, then a half-hour trip (on train). Oh, and the first train took an hour. All in all, it took him roughly an hour and three quarters to commute to and from school every morning. And for what? To go to someplace he didn't want to go, learn things he didn't need to know, do things he didn't want to do, then go home after another hour and a quarter commute.

Yup. Pointless. And Jehu proceeded to tell Johan just_ how _pointless he thought it all was. Every commute.

_((Jo-chan, you could just walk -not that you need the exercise-, but this is just stupid!)) _Jehu complained as Johan waited in line to board the train.

_(I can't walk that far!)_

_((Then let me-))_

_(HELL NO!) _

Jehu pouted, then smiled immediately afterwards. _((Think Judai's over yesterday? Or he's gonna take you up on it?))_

Johan blushed slightly, taking a seat in a deserted compartment of the train. _(I'll kill you. I'll kill you and it will not be painless!)_

_((…..well, you can __**try**__…))_

_(I'm serious!)_

_((And I'm already dead. But, like I said, you can try.)_

_(…damnit.)_

Johan often forgot that Jehu was just a spirit. In fact, even though they'd only met about three months previously he already felt that he'd known Jehu since forever. He realised, with a small pang of sadness, just how lonely he'd be once Jehu went back to the Spirit Realm.

Just as the train started moving, the compartment door slid open, revealing rather handsome teenage boy in a pristine and perfectly cut white suit. His silver hair was neatly combed back, reaching his shoulders, and his steely grey-blue eyes sparkled with a certain emotion that Johan just couldn't put his finger on…. Mischief? Serenity? It seemed like a mixture of both.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" the boy asked politely; gesturing to one of the seats. Johan shrugged.

"If you want."

_((…um…. If the whole thing with Judai backfires, he-))_

_(Shut up!)_

_((I'm just saying!))_

Johan rolled his eyes and ignored his spirit, trying to pretend he hadn't just been scowling. "You look familiar. Have I seen you before?"

The boy shrugged. "I wouldn't know. Maybe."

Johan paused, thinking. He knew he'd seen the boy _somewhere _before….pre-school? Primary school? Old school? Camp? Mall? …..TV?

The boy took a seat opposite Johan, smiled, then reached into his briefcase (which Johan just noticed he had), pulling out some papers and a pen, and began to shuffle through them, occasionally scribbling something on the odd page. He glanced up at Johan after about five minutes of avid shuffling and scribbling. "Oh, by the way, do you know where Hikari High is? I was planning on going today…."

Johan blinked, and Jehu tensed up immediately. _((Johan! He can't be a student; he must be looking for weapons!)) _Jehu said; immediately eyeing the boy to try and locate a symbol.

_(But he's not wearing a pendant.)_

_((It's the rules, but you don't have to wear a pendant if you're not planning to fight! That's why I didn't wear one yesterday!))_ Jehu explained hurriedly. _((Don't tell him anything!))_

_(I didn't know you cared.)_

_((I don't! Those spirits are __**mine**__!)_

The silver-haired boy blinked, then laughed softly. "Oh, of course you do. I'm sorry. You go there, don't you? How stupid of me."

"How did you know that?"

"You're wearing their uniform, aren't you?"

Johan flushed as Jehu snickered slightly. _((Smooth, Jo-chan, smooth….))_

_(Shut. Up. Jehu!) _

"Uh, yeah. Sure. I can take you there…" Johan answered, trying to mask his mess-up with a fake grin. "Why do you need to go anyway?"

The boy shrugged. "Business." He placed the papers onto his lap, and twirled the pen between his fingers. "Oh, how rude of me. I can hardly ask a favour of you if you don't know my name. It's Phoenix. Edo Phoenix."

Johan's eyes bulged. Edo Phoenix? _The_ Edo Phoenix! "Edo Phoenix, as in, that child prodigy?"

Jehu, needless to say, was confused. _((Child prodigy? Seriously? __**Him**__?))_

_(Yeah! I've heard of him. He has degrees, and he's great at sports, and he's a genius! A complete and utter mathematical genius! They also say he can see "events predetermined"…. Whatever that means.)_

_(('Events predetermined' is just another way of saying fate. So he can see into the future. Wow, as if he wasn't creepy enough. Wait, how do you know that?))_

_(Dad used to tell me all about him.)_

Edo smiled a bit at Johan's shock. "Is that what they're calling me? Well, I guess I am. You?"

"Johan Anderson."

"Relation of Janez Anderson? That famous violinist?"

Jehu growled, and Johan tensed at the name. "He's my dad…." Johan muttered. "I don't live with him anymore…."

Edo paused, as if thinking. Then a look of surprise flitted across his face as he seemed to remember something. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I should have thought a little more. I'd heard he'd divorced his wife…. I'm sorry."

Johan made a small attempt at a smile. "Not your fault."

Jehu snorted. _((Damn pretty boy.))_

_(Shut up.)_

The time on the train flew by; Edo and Johan spoke freely about just about everything, from school to complaining about their families, to sport and music, and at one point, literature. The only thing that Johan found uncomfortable about the boy was how formal he was; and Jehu didn't like him at all.

Eventually, as they were walking into the school building, Johan asked; "Just what business are you here on, Edo? I wouldn't have thought you needed to come back to school, of all places."

Edo shrugged. "I'm here to see somebody. Actually, I'm thinking about transferring here. Spend a little time closer to home. A few relations of mine live in the area."

"Oh, that's…. well, I didn't think you'd still be in school."

"I still need to attend school. It's the law," Edo smiled wryly, and in a flash Jehu riled up at him.

_((Smiling as if he's better than you, lemme at him Jo-chan, I'll beat some sense into him!))_ Jehu raged, mentally flipping Edo off inside Johan's mind. The emerald-eyed boy just shrugged him off, and kept smiling.

"Oh. Right. I knew that."

"I see."

_((No you didn't.))_

_(Let me reiterate: Shut up!)_

Jehu pouted. Johan was always like that in the morning. He didn't even know how many times the boy had told him to shut up so far; he'd lost count at thirty-six. And that was over an hour ago.

Edo's smile turned a little vicious. "Johan?"

"Yeah?"

"Your spirit doesn't like me, does he?"

**And that's chapter seven! XD Somehow Edo's found out about Jehu, and can he really see the future? Is he really here for the reasons he said? Is he in the competition? And is he totally OOC? These questions will be answered and more (except the last one. That's kinda for you guys to tell me.) in the next chapter! **

**Jehu's secret weapon: Tickle Torture. **

**Thanks to all that reviewed, I love you all! **

**Please review! A hug from either Judai or Johan if you do! XD **

~Oak-chan


	10. Chapter 8: You're his what!

_**I don't own it! I never will own it! So don't sue, I'm as poor as…. *insert random, poor anime character*! **_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan)_

_Judi to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_[Ryo to Fubuki]_

_[[Fubuki to Ryo]]_

_**Edo Thinking **__(I needed one for him, because otherwise he couldn't think? Um…)_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

_Chapter 8: You're his __**what**__? _

"_Your spirit doesn't like me, does he?"_

If it were possible, Johan's jaw would have dropped, hit the ground and shattered into a million pieces. But, since it wasn't, it just plain dropped. Jehu froze; inside Johan's mind you could see his rage melting away and replacing itself with confusion. And lots of it.

Edo blinked. "Did I say something wrong?"

Johan flushed and stuttered, staring at Edo as if he'd just grown another head. "But- you- how- how'd you know that-"

Edo stared at him, as if growing a third head was totally normal. "How'd I what? Johan, are you okay?"

"But- how'd you know that I had a spirit?" Johan flailed; Jehu was yelling at him to either shut up or kill Edo. "I mean, I didn't say and Jehu hasn't been in spirit form, so-"

Edo raised a hand, signalling Johan to stop. "Whoa, slow down. Listen. I know you have a spirit because my family is closer in touch with spirits than others. I can sense them, and I can find certain spirits if I lock onto them. Because of my link with the otherworld, it allows me glimpses of the future when I concentrate hard enough, and it involves someone dying or someone dead. Comes in the territory of relation with the deceased. Okay? That's how I can sense your spirit. I can also sense some of his emotions, but that's it, really."

Johan paused, processing this new information. "So… you're not in the competition?"

Edo let out a hollow laugh. "So there _is_ a competition between the spirits. I'd heard whispers of one, but I wasn't really very sure what it was about. No, I'm not. Didn't mean to worry you."

Jehu huffed. _((Jerk. Scaring us like that….. I mean, scaring __**you**__ like that….)) _

_(Jehu?)_

_((Yes, Jo-chan?))_

_(Shut up.)_

"Oh…. Okay…." Johan smiled softly. "Sorry, you scared me for a minute there…."

Edo smiled. "Sorry. Oh, look. I have to go register in at the desk. See you around, all right?" He waved, and walked into the head office. Johan waved half-heartedly, and Jehu mumbled something about 'good riddance'.

_(Jehu?)_

_((Yah?))_

_(Why don't you like Edo?)_

_((Why do __**you**__ like him so much?))_

_(You first.)_

_((Um…. Well… I guess it's because he seems so… polite? And courteous? It's creepy after having been hanging around you for like three months. Your turn.))_

_(I dunno, I just do?)_

_((Hey! Since he's transferring here, maybe you two could get to know each other better!))_

_(Yeah, why not?)_

_((*snickers*))_

_(What…? Jehu?)_

_((Much, __**much**__ better...!))_

_(What do you- JEHU! Not like that, you idiot!) _

_((What? I'm just __**saying**__.))_

_(Well, you can stop!)_

Johan spun around, aiming to head for the classroom, but instead found himself face-to-face with none other than…

"Judai!" Johan gasped, then flushed at the memory of the previous day. Judai blushed as well.

"Uhh… hi, Johan…." He muttered, turning away slightly. _Now what do I do? Now what? Haou, help!_

_-…..with what? Judai?-_

_It's Johan!_

_-Johan?-_

_The guy who…. Umm…._

_-Oh. Him.-_

_Yes. Him. _

_-Uhh…. Tell him to get lost and leave you alone?-_

_What? No- Actually…. Maybe. Anything else?_

_-No! How would I know what to do with modern day teenage romancing? Figure something out!-_

_Thanks, Haou. You've been a big help._

_-….was that sarcasm?-_

Johan stared at the ground. "Uhh, Judai? About yesterday?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Well, I didn't really mean-"

"Hey, Johan! I thought you'd headed back to class already!" The two boys glanced to the side to see the interruption, and their eyes locked on Edo. Johan sweatdropped and Judai's eyes widened.

_Is that…._

_-Who?-_

_It is!_

_((Oh god, it's that pretty boy again.))_

_(Shut it!)_

Edo blinked, eyes flicking between Johan and Judai. "Huh? Do you know-"

"EDO!" Johan's jaw dropped (for the second time that day) as Judai happily glomped the silverette, hugging him tightly. "I missed you!" Edo petted him on the head, grinning.

"Hey Judai. Nice to see you, too."

Since Judai was a little shorter than Edo, he had to look up to see the boy's face. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm transferring!"

"Really?" Judai hugged him even tighter, and Edo wrapped his arms around the boy.

_((Huh. Looks like they're both taken. By each other. Oh, the irony.))_ Jehu sighed, watching the whole spectacle inside Johan's mind. _((So much for that.)) _On a side note, he thought to himself; _((But they are adorable.))_

_(Jehu?)_

_((Yeah? No, wait, let me guess. Shut up?))_

_(Yup.) _

Haou, however, had reacted a little differently. _–You were going on about Johan and yet, here you are, clinging to this guy like a freaking schoolgirl in love. Who is he, anyway?-_

Judai grinned as Edo frowned. Since he was in such close proximity to Judai, he could hear exactly what Haou had said. And Haou, being, well, _Haou_, instantly realised it.

_-Wait.-_

_What?_

Haou muttered something under his breath, forming a mind spell that created a barrier around their mind. Edo wouldn't be able to hear nor sense Haou any longer.

_-Now tell me who he is.-_

_Edo's my-_

"Umm, Edo?" Johan asked slowly as Judai turned to face him, but still managed to cling to Edo. "What… Umm… why is Judai…?"

Edo blinked. "Oh, well, you see, Judai's my-"

_((-boyfriend!)) _Jehu cut in gleefully.

"-cousin." Edo finished as Jehu mentally fell over. "We're pretty close, though."

_((Cousin? That's not fair!)) _Jehu whined. _((No, wait! That means they're probably __**both**_ _still single! Yeah! Johan, go for one of 'em! Preferably Judai! He's adorable!)) _He sent a mental image of himself pumping his fist into the air. _((Gooooo!))_

Johan, on the other hand, flushed slightly. "Oh, right. For a minute there, I kinda thought-"

Just then, the bell rang, signalling the start of class. All three of them- Judai, Johan and Edo- all automatically, well, freaked out.

"_SHITTT!"_

.:…:….:….:.

"-and this is Ryo and Fubuki, and you met Rei-chan and Asu-chan yesterday!" Judai paused to take a gulp of air. "Guys, this is Edo! He's my cousin! He's not in the competition or anything but he can still see spirits!"

Rei, Asuka and Fubuki all grinned. "Hi!" the brunette out of the group chirped, while Ryo somewhat hesitantly shook Edo's hand.

_[A non-weapon seeing spirits?]_

_[['tis possible, 'tis possible. I wouldn't know. Well, he can see us, and I don't see a symbol or anything, and what reason would he have to lie to Judai?]]_

_[The competition and wanting to eliminate Haou?]_

_[[Maybe, but as if he could. Haou's too strong. And he wouldn't care about me and 'Suki, since technically we've already been eliminated.]]_

_[Nnn.]_

Ryo stood up, looking Edo straight in the eye. "If you tell anyone we're weapons," he growled, "There'll be a hell to pay. You do realise that, right?"

Edo gulped. "My lips are sealed."

Ryo looked away. "They'd better be." Edo raised his hands in mock surrender.

_**Oh god, this guy's serious, isn't he?**_ Edo thought, watching Ryo sit next to Fubuki, who immediately jumped up and took a seat on the blunette's lap. _**What is this, the second pact of silence I've screwed my way into? **_He sighed; remembering the events that had taken place the previous day:

_:/Flash Back/:_

"Hey, pretty boy!" Edo looked backwards just as Johan slammed him into the wall. The blunette took a hold of his collar and held him so he couldn't move.

Edo's eyes widened; Johan's fist was pushing into his neck and it was getting harder to breathe. "J-Johan….?" He choked out, looking at the boy. His blue eyes locked with Johan's, but instead of eyes like clear cut emeralds, the boy had orbs like glowing amber.

Amber eyes narrowed as the boy growled; "You wish."

Edo frowned, remembering what he'd heard from Johan earlier. "You're…. Johan's spirit? Je…."

"Jehu."

Jehu let go of Edo, letting him breathe. Edo took in huge gulps of air, but never taking his eyes off the blunette. "What was all that about?" Edo demanded as Jehu folded his arms and glared at him.

"You do anything to let _anyone_, and I mean _anyone_, know that Johan's a weapon, and I," Jehu made a slicing movement over his neck, "make sure you never do anything again. Do we understand each other?"

Edo nodded. "Don't tell anyone. Got it."

Jehu's eyes narrowed as he let out a wolfish snarl. "And that includes telling anyone about me. As far as you're concerned, I don't exist."

_:/Present Time/:_

Edo groaned aloud; it was because of that he was wearing a turtleneck shirt underneath his uniform. To hide the bruises. That had been yesterday, and this was technically his second day as a student at Hikari High. Judai had immediately introduced him to Haou as soon as they got back to his house. And, needless to say, Haou didn't like Edo. Not at all.

Edo himself was just shocked at how much Haou looked like Judai. Though Judai had never had a twin brother…. And Haou looked like he was a twenty-four year old whose age had yet to catch up with him. Apparently Haou was over five hundred years old, but that would place him in… medieval times? And Rei _said_ he wore armour in battle….

Most puzzling.

Because, if he remembered correctly, 'Haou' translated to 'Supreme King' in Japanese.

And if he remembered correctly, wasn't there a rather feared medieval ruler that was known of only as the Supreme King? And the dating would be over five hundred years ago….

Was that really just coincidence?

**Yup! That's chapter eight! Yay! Edo's here (as of last chapter), and he's… psychic? In tune with spirits? What's up with that? He's also Judai's older cousin! Because I wanted him to be (And because of the whole, Elemental Hero-Destiny Hero thing they've got going in the anime), and you hafta admit, they make cute cousins. So Edo's also met Haou, Asuka and Fubuki as spirits, and Ryo's made him promise not to tell anyone about them. And he's also found Jehu and Johan, but Jehu threatened to kill him if he told anyone about **_**them**_**! So he's a little stuck and fearing for his life…. He's also starting to piece together Haou's past! Beware all, genius Edo is going to solve everything! Or is he? Is something totally dreadful going to happen? …..maybe. I have absolutely no idea, really.**

…**..I just wrote this chapter to kill time. **

**ANYWAY! Edo was saying, 'if he remembered correctly' about Japanese because, yes they are in Japan, and speaking Japanese, but Edo was abroad for ages and was mainly speaking English. **

**I don't write using Japanese suffixes often, because I feel awkward writing them, but a few will be popping up every now and then. Oh, and, yes, Jehu is determined to pry into Johan's love life and is trying to set him up with either Judai or Edo. I kind of like it how he swaps from being all cheeky and mischievous and generally acting adolescent to being so vicious and evil! It makes him fun to write!**

**I've rambled on a bit too long, so here I'll say: Please review! Everyone that reviewed, thank you so much and I love you all. It's because of you that I made it this far! Especially those who have stayed with me since the very beginning. You're all great! So please drop a review on your way out! *waves***

~Oak-chan


	11. Chapter 9: To the Hot Springs!

_**I own YGO GX (Yeah right, I wish!). Please feel free to sue me (Don't. Please. I beg of youuu!) **_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan)_

_Judi to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_[Ryo to Fubuki]_

_/Rei to Asuka/_

_/Asuka to Rei/_

_[[Fubuki to Ryo]]_

_**Edo Thinking **__(I needed one for him, because otherwise he couldn't think? Um…)_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

_**:/AN/: Ah-hem. I wanted to put in a few filler-type things. These are really just for humour and nothing else, but there will be a couple spirit battles. Also, this chapter takes place about a week after chapter eight. Just thought I'd tell ya. And yes, the title to last chapter was a total rip-off of the title to the first chapter. Also I'm holding a poll. More news on that down the page in my slightly longer author's comment slot. **_

_**And despite this being the longest chapter so far, it was the easiest to write due to its total lack of plot backbone and storyline :D FASTEST UPDATE EVERRRR!**_

_***Whistles* But, wow! That's a long list of character interactions! This is mainly a chapter of everyone, and it's probably going to be a little long because I didn't want to have to carry this over two chapters, but yeah, you get the idea. Please enjoy (Nothing very important happens in this chapter. You can probably go ahead and skip it if you want.)!**_

_Chapter 9: To the Hot Springs!_

"_You're soooo lucky!" _Fubuki whined from his usual seat on Ryo's lap. _"You get to go to the hot springs! I wanna go to the hot springs! What about you, Ryo-chan?" _He glanced back at the blunette he was sitting on. Ryo shrugged.

"Not really. Our parents own the local hot springs, so Sho and I go all the time." He said nonchalantly as Fubuki paused. "And don't call me Ryo-chan!"

"_Oh, yeah. That's right!…Ryo-chan." _

Judai grinned and glanced at Edo and Rei. They, being in his class, were going on his little class excursion with him. A one day trip to the hot springs? That wasn't even work! Their form teacher, Emi Ayukawa, had decided to take them all to the hot springs. Her excuse was studying rise and flow of temperature, but the truth was that she just loved hot springs. And Edo had helped convince her to let them go.

"Your family owns hot springs?" Rei blinked, staring at Ryo. "Wow. I never knew."

Judai paused for a second, "Oh, yeah. Sho mentioned it once. Hey, Edo, which hot springs are we going to?" he glanced at his cousin, who also paused to think.

"Marufuji. I'm positive it's Marufuji." Edo said finally, pulling at the collar of his school uniform awkwardly. He still wasn't used to them yet.

Asuka clapped her hands. _"Ryo and Sho Marufuji, right? So we're going to your family springs! Great!" _She stopped to stare at Ryo. _"Why aren't you wearing your uniform?"_

Ryo shrugged. "I'm a senior, so there are some days I don't have to attend to school if I have a part-time job to go to. Which I do. So I just figured I'd walk with you guys to school before heading off, as well as handing in my pass for not coming into school today."

"_Isn't your part-time job at your family's hot springs?" _Asuka questioned.

Ryo nodded. "Yeah."

Judai blinked, then grinned as Rei giggled. "So you'll be there, then?" Edo couldn't help smirking. "So all of us are going to be there."

"_Of course! This is going to be so cool!" _Asuka grinned at Ryo, then glanced at Rei. They both burst out in fits of giggles. Fubuki held out both his hands and made 'peace' signs.

"_Hell yeah, baby! We're-a hittin' the springs!" _Fubuki grinned and leaned back against Ryo, nestling his head in the crook of the blunette's neck. _"Ryo-chan, we are going today, right?" _He looked up at his weapon, who wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Yeah. I guess we are."

Everyone just grinned.

.:…:…:…:.

"Wo-ow!" Rei grinned at the sight in front of her. "This is so great! Right, Asu-chan?" the blond next to her grinned and nodded.

"_Rei-chan, let's head for the springs!_"and giggling like two little kids, they bolted from the rest of the group and made their way to the female springs. Judai turned to Edo and grabbed him by the wrist, and proceeded to drag his cousin towards the male springs.

"_Hey! Judai! Edo!"_ Both of them glanced towards the source of the noise, which was Fubuki. He waved and beckoned them over.

"Fubuki! You guys really are here!" Judai jabbered, grinning as Fubuki gave him a 'peace' sign.

"'_Course, you thought I wouldn't be? Anyhow, you two wanna go to a private spring? Like, private as in me, you, 'Suki, Rei, and Ryo-chan? And Haou? Although I doubt he'd actually really want to?" _Fubuki paused, putting his finger on his chin in a typical 'thinking' pose. _"Does he? Judai?"_

Judai shrugged. "Dunno." _Haou?_

_-Don't care.-_

"Nope."

Edo let out a hollow laugh. "Why does that not surprise me?" Inside Judai's mind, Haou shot a rather heated glare Edo's way. Edo, ever oblivious, continued; "I'll go, though. Judai?"

Judai nodded. "Yup!"

Fubuki grinned, and started to walk into the building. _"This-a-way!" _Edo and Judai followed the grinning brunette with identical smiles on their faces. So they didn't look like cousins. If you looked hard enough, they had a couple of similar personality traits…. But that was about it.

Inside Judai's mind, Haou yawned, blinking. What was so special about hot springs? They were just giant outside baths filled with boiling water. So he couldn't really see why Judai was so psyched about them. Edo, either.

Fubuki, on the other hand, _loved_ hot springs and everything about them. Even when he was alive, there was little he enjoyed more than being in the water, whether it was surfing, swimming, sitting around or just taking a bath. Ryo, however, didn't see Fubuki's infatuation with the water. Unlike the brunette, he hadn't grown up around the ocean, and his family had only recently acquired the springs. He wasn't big on it.

The blunette glanced to the side as Fubuki wrenched open the sliding door and led Judai and Edo inside. The two boys were in swimming trunks; Judai in red and Edo in silver, which really didn't differ from the colours they wore normally. (The students had to wear trunks, because apparently towels just weren't suitable.) Fubuki himself had somehow swapped from his long white coat with blue trimmings to a red Hawaiian shirt and board shorts. Ryo was in black; long jeans with a black shirt and a black jacket. He wasn't planning on swimming. He still had things to do. He also knew Asuka and Rei to be in normal bikinis (baby blue and orange respectively); he'd seen them before they'd eagerly jumped into the spring Ryo had set aside for the six of them. He wasn't counting Haou. He had never planned to.

Judai and Edo grinned and simultaneously leapt into the spring, creating a huge wave of heated water that splashed all over Fubuki and Ryo. The brunette just smiled, pulled his shirt off and threw it in the corner then leapt in after them, leaving Ryo to growl angrily as he was splashed with more water.

Seriously, though. How the hell did _spirits_ make water splashes?

How the hell did they even change clothes, anyway?

Ryo watched as Judai splashed water over Edo, who lifted a hand to shield his face, then splashed Judai right back. Judai splashed at Edo again; this time the silverette ducked under the water and it hit Rei and Asuka instead. Edo resurfaced sheepishly, seeing the evil auras emanating from the girls.

"_You do realise," _Asuka started threateningly, folding her arms as Rei glowered. _"This. Means. War!"_

They simultaneously hit the water; Fubuki, Judai and Edo all got hit by the spray. Fubuki raised an eyebrow. _"Sister dear, this means all-out war!" _And so the splash war began; Rei and Asuka vs. Judai, Edo and Fubuki. Ryo just groaned and stepped back far enough so he wouldn't get any wetter than he already was.

"Hey! No fair!" Rei pouted, then ducked underwater to avoid Fubuki's latest attack. She reappeared, scowling, and sent her best glower the boys' way. "We're outnumbered! Three against two, that's not fair!"

Fubuki paused. "Oh, okay. Ryo, you come join our team! Then we'll sacrifice either Edo or Judai, whichever one's girlier. Actually, I think it's Judai. Neh. Either way."

Judai pouted as Edo burst out laughing. "I resent that!" the brunette complained as Edo petted him on the head.

"It's true, 'lil cousin, it's true!" Edo grinned, then blinked as Judai sent him the evillest grin imaginable. "Judai- AAGHHH!" He yelled as Judai pounced on him and knocked him underwater. Every time Edo tried to resurface, Judai would dunk him back down. The others burst out laughing, and even Ryo's lips twitched a little. Eventually, Judai let him back up again, sopping wet and gasping for breath.

"Judai!" He gasped, glaring at his cousin.

Judai smirked. "Girly, am I?"

Edo growled and splashed at his cousin again. Ryo sighed. Would these people _never_ grow up?

.:…:…:…:.

Johan leant against the rock wall in the spring and sighed happily as the heated water enveloped him. God, he hadn't been in a spring for so long. He'd even managed to snag an empty one, so it was just him. And Jehu.

Who still hadn't gotten in yet. Johan cracked open an eye and stared at his lookalike spirit, who was standing tentatively by the spring's edge, staring down at the steamy, heated water. He dipped his foot in, then immediately pulled it back out.

Johan sighed. "If you're going to get in, get in already!" he called, and Jehu glared at him.

"_I'll get in when I'm ready."_

"At this rate, you'll be ready when it's time to leave. What's up with you?" Johan quirked a smile. "Don't tell me you're scared of water?"

Jehu flushed angrily. _"A-as if! Why would I-"_

"Then by all means, get in."

"…_."_

"You are, aren't you?"

"_Okay, so I kinda maybe never learnt how to swim." _Jehu folded his arms. _"But as if you're Mr. Perfect!"_

Johan raised an eyebrow, standing up and staring at his spirit. "You can't swim?"

"_Sh-shut up!" _

"You don't say…."

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"And here I thought you were perfect at everything."

"_What gave you __**that**__ impression?"_

"I don't know, maybe all that 'Jehu-sama' stuff you came out with when we first synced?"

"_Oh, yeah. That."_ Jehu stared down at the water, then made up his mind. _"How deep is it?"_

Johan shrugged. "Not very. But then, I got in on the other side-"

"_Okay, I'm getting in!" _Jehu jumped into the spring, and immediately sunk underwater. Johan's eyes widened as he pushed himself off the submerged rock he'd initially been sitting on.

"Jehu?" he called. "Jehu!" No reply. "Jehu, this isn't funny!" Johan started to panic; Jehu wasn't resurfacing. "Jehu!" Johan swam over to where he'd last seen Jehu; and taking a huge gulp of air, he dove underwater.

As soon as the bubbles cleared out of his vision, he saw Jehu clawing at the water and trying to propel himself to the surface. Johan grabbed him by the wrist and tried to drag him to the surface, and managed to pull him upwards. As soon as they re-emerged, Johan took a huge breath and pulled his spirit over to the shallow end.

"God, Jehu!" Johan said as soon as they were on solid ground. "Don't scare me like that!"

Jehu frowned. _"You said it wasn't deep."_

"I also said I got in on the other side. You could have drowned!"

"_Yeah, thanks for that, but I-"_ Jehu paused. _"You know what I just realised?"_

Johan blinked. "What?"

"_I'm a spirit. I can't die again. I wouldn't have drowned or anything."_

"…"

"…"

"…..oh."

"…_..fail."_

"…we're both idiots, aren't we?"

"_Yup."_

"I just tried to save a guy that was already dead from drowning…."

"_And I just made a complete and utter fool of myself. Yeah, I'd say we're both idiots." _

Johan sighed, and gave his spirit a small smile. "I guess stupidity's contagious."

"_Yes, I suppose it is." _Jehu agreed, nodding.

"I guess I caught it from you."

"_Yeah, you probably di- Hey!" _

.:…:…:…:.

Rei grabbed a towel and started using to dry herself as Asuka climbed out of the spring. "Hey, guys. I'm gonna go get changed, we're leaving soon." She called as Judai, Edo and Fubuki paused mid-splash.

"We are?" Judai blinked, then glanced up at the giant, decorative clock you could see from all the springs. "Damn, you're right! It's almost three," the brunette complained as Edo and Fubuki pouted.

Rei and Asuka waved, then rushed past Ryo to get to the changing rooms. _"So, Rei-chan?" _Asuka asked, as they walked into the room. _"How'd you like your first hot spring?"_

Rei grinned, starting to change behind a towel. "It was fun! I'm kinda envious, you got to do this all the time when you were alive!"

"_Yeah, it was great!" _Asuka beamed, and in a flash of white light she was back in her normal attire; the white sleeveless with blue trimmings and the blue miniskirt and boots. The blonde fiddled with her gloves, pulling them up a bit. _"Ready to go?"_

Rei nodded, now back in her school uniform, and slung her towel over her shoulder. As they headed down the corridor, chatting and giggling, Rei accidentally bumped into someone and fell to the ground. As she clambered to her feet, she stared up at a man easily three times her size, who was definitely glaring at her.

"I-I'm sorry!" She gasped, and made a small, apologetic bow. The man ignored her, and his line of vision swapped from Rei to…. Asuka?

"You'll be more than just sorry," he growled, as a magical light enveloped the area.

.:…:…:…:.

Meanwhile, Fubuki and Ryo were waiting for Judai and Edo to reappear from changing into their school uniforms, and the brunette was leaning against the wall in boredom as Ryo spoke to the spring's manager on the other line.

"Mmm. Okay. Thanks." Ryo hung up, and slid his cell back into his pocket. "I've got the rest of the day off," he mentioned as Fubuki pushed himself off the wall.

"_What's taking 'Suki and Rei-chan so long?" _Fubuki whined, clinging to Ryo's arm. _"They should be back by now!" _

Ryo paused. It was true. The girls had left well over fifteen minutes ago, and they weren't back yet. So where were they? "I don't kno-"

"_AIIIIGGHHHHHH!_"

Both boys froze as the scream filled the area. Fubuki immediately paled.

"_That sounded like 'Suki!" _he yelled; pulling on Ryo's arm. _"We have to go see if she's okay!" _Ryo nodded, and the two raced down the corridor in the direction of the noise.

"'_Suki!" _Fubuki yelled as he turned the corner; he was already a fair distance in front of Ryo. _"ASUKA!" _He screeched to a halt as four figures filled his line of vision.

"'_Suka?" _He blinked; Asuka was solid and Rei was in spirit form; and in front of them was an dark skinned man with dark hair that came down in dreadlocks. He was dressed a bit like a soldier; an orange singlet with an unzipped dark brown vest over the top, baggy khaki pants and black boots. He was extremely muscular, and had some golden jewellery in places. His wrists were bandaged, and he appeared to be solid. The man behind him, however…. Well, Fubuki would have had to describe him something along the lines of 'Man Mountain'.

He was huge. Huge, and tall with a bulky build. He had a rather pronounced nose, and gave off a rather sinister vibe, right down to his darkened clothing and malevolent stance. He was in spirit form, so he must have been the weapon. But Fubuki wasn't interested in them. What he did care about was his sister. _"Asuka, are you okay?" _

Asuka looked up from her place on the floor; she had been forced into a rather painful seating position on the ground. Rei was lying unconscious against the wall behind her. "N….nii-chan…. I… knew you'd come," his sister smiled softly and weakly. "I told them…. I told them you'd make them pay…."

Fubuki narrowed his eyes as Ryo appeared behind him. _"And I will." _He glanced back at his weapon. _"Ryo!"_

Ryo nodded. "I hear you."

The enormous man in spirit form smirked rather evilly. _"What? Are you two going to challenge us?" _

Fubuki and Ryo ignored him; instead swapping forms in a flash of icy blue light. Ryo, now in spirit form, went to go and help Asuka and Rei while a solid Fubuki stood the dark man down.

"Damn straight." Fubuki growled as the man took up a fighting stance.

"And just who are you?" The man with dreadlocks demanded as he and Fubuki began circling each other. Fubuki frowned.

"Fubuki Tenjōin. You."

"Austin O'Brien." He gestured behind him. "That would be my weapon, Cobra."

Fubuki quirked an eyebrow. "Cobra? Oooh, I'm shakin' in my boots." He gave Austin a rather pointed glare.

Cobra pointed over at Ryo. _"And that would be?"_

Ryo glared coldly at Cobra, who only laughed. _"Ryo Marufuji. If I were you, though, I'd be giving Fubuki my utmost attention. He's the dangerous one."_

Austin smirked. "Sure doesn't look it."

Fubuki growled angrily. "I'll make you swallow your words. Here!" He flung his hands forward; they started glowing as a giant ball of ice flew at Austin.

The dark-skinned man didn't bother moving. "Not bad. But," With a quick flick of his wrist, a giant wall of flame shot out of the ground, smothering the ice. "but, not good enough."

Ryo grimaced. _"Fire? Austin's got the elemental advantage. And we're already weakened." _

Cobra raised an eyebrow. _"Because, you, like that pathetic excuse of a spirit,"_ he pointed at Asuka, _"don't have a pendant either?" _Ryo gave a warning growl.

Cobra once again ignored him, and glanced at Austin. _"That makes him hardly worth our time." _

Austin and Fubuki, who had previously been flinging balls of flame and ice at each other, froze, and turned to face Cobra. Austin quickly glanced at Fubuki, and lowered his fists. "True."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fubuki exclaimed heatedly as Austin stepped back. "Are you giving up?"

Austin gave a wry smile. "Normally, that would count as forfeit. But seeing as this couldn't technically ever be an official battle, as you've already been eliminated, it doesn't. It just counts as us deciding you aren't worth our time and _leaving._"

Fubuki narrowed his eyes. "You-"

"_Though it does lead me to wonder," _Cobra started, _"Why you're still here when you should either be destroyed or back in the Spirit Realm. It's illegal unless you surrendered, you realise?"_

Asuka stared at the ground. "We forfeited," she muttered in barely a whisper. "Nii-chan, you didn't…."

Cobra raised an eyebrow. _"Then that's illegal! We should really be destroying you right now. Just to uphold the legalities."_

Ryo frowned as Austin began to create a fireball. It was true, it was the law. But he'd damned before he let Fubuki be destroyed! There had to be a way, a loophole, anything…. But he was coming up on empty.

Austin smirked. "Bye, Blizzard Boy." Fubuki gritted his teeth, cursing Austin and Cobra tenfold.

"_Fubuki-"_ Ryo started to call, but Cobra interrupted.

"_Shut it, brat!" _Cobra snarled. _"And let Austin do his __**legal duty**__."_

"Legal Duty!" Asuka yelled. "You just want an excuse to destroy Fubuki!"

"_Maybe, but what are you going to do about it?" _Cobra asked as Asuka bit her lip. It was true; she couldn't do anything. She wasn't strong enough.

"HERE!" She heard Austin yell; and she glanced upwards just in time to see Austin fling the flame at Fubuki. Asuka shut her eyes; preparing for the worst. But she didn't hear it. She didn't hear Fubuki's cries of pain, she didn't hear Ryo yelling profanities at Cobra and Austin, and she didn't hear the two laughing mercilessly. She did, however, hear them cursing. And yelling.

She cracked her eyes open, only to have her vision assaulted by a blinding golden glow. When she could see properly, she saw a golden shield in front of Fubuki, and an armoured Haou standing next to him.

Austin's brow creased as he yelled; "Who the hell are you? And what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Haou raised an eyebrow. "My _**legal duty**__._"

"_What is __**that**__ supposed to mean?" _Cobra demanded, as Haou lowered the shield. The sun-eyed brunette shrugged.

"Fubuki is, ahh, _contracted_ to me within the boundaries of the competition." Haou stated. "His sister, too."

Everyone stared at Haou, none of them understanding what he'd just said. Haou groaned. "That _means_ they have immunity from elimination as long as I'm still a competitor."

Silence.

"You can't eliminate them unless I get eliminated as well! God, people!"

Judai, who was standing next to Edo in spirit form, stared at Haou dully. _"And you couldn't have just said that because….?"_

Haou just glared at him.

Austin and Cobra glanced at each other. "Well, I suppose we might be seeing you around."Austin said drearily.

Cobra smirked. _"Or not."_

As the two left the room, Fubuki flipped them off as Judai groaned. _I think….we may be jumping into this too quickly… and we're going to regret this….._

**Yay! Sucky Chapter! Worst Chapter ever! But I wanted to write it! **

**It's also very long. Almost… wow. Ten pages. I'm sorry for that, but I wanted to shove this all into one chapter. And, yes, Austin and Cobra are spirit partners. They'll be showing up again later. Oh, and as for the whole contractor schmizz…. I'm pretty sure Haou just made all that up to save Fubuki. Why he wanted to save Fubuki? So he wouldn't have to go through all the guilt trips Judai would put him through. He's also making this competition more complicated than it needs to be…. *sigh* Edo and Judai are rather childish, neh? And no, Jehu can't swim. Asuka and Fubuki grew up near the ocean, and the Marufuji's own a hot spring. Wow, Sho's all but disappeared, hasn't he? Does anyone want to see him again? Or should I have him sink into the black hole that is called a messed-up plot line, never to be seen again?**

**Please review…. I need someone besides myself to tell me how much this chapter sucked, and to tell me to get my game back on(no, that was not intended to be a bad pun), instead of having it off and wobbling around all over the place, about to fall off a cliff. As for those that reviewed last time, thank you very, very much! I appreciate it! And don't worry, next chapter reveals a lot of plot holes and is crucial –crucial I say!- to the plot. **

**Oh, yes, my poll. Who wants Yubel to be a girl? Who wants Yubel to be a guy? You choose, since I can't! It really doesn't matter either way. Please vote!**

…**..I think my writing's suffering. I could have sworn I was a better author than I am now this time **_**last**_** year….**

~Oak-chan


	12. Chapter 10: Golden Eyes

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan)_

_Judi to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

_**:/AN/: **_

_**Me: Hellos once again! I really have nothing to say, except-**_

_**Jehu: Why am I a total sap?**_

_**Me: Huh?**_

_**Jehu: Look at me! The way I act around Johan- Jo-chan, seriously!- and I'm so sappy and everything! WHY CAN'T I SWIM?**_

_**Me: It's in the plot! *laughs***_

_**Jehu: Screw the plot! Make me cooler or else!**_

_**Me:…..define 'else'. **_

_**Jehu:…**_

_**Me:….um…. **__**Haou! Say the overly clichéd line then freakin' SAVE ME!**_

_**Haou:…..Oak-chan does not own YGO GX as much as she would like to. YGO GX and all related **__**official**__** storylines (not fanfics) belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Toei Animation, Naoyuki Kageyama, Masahiro Hikokubo, Satou Masashi, Konami, Studio Dice, etc. And although she refuses to acknowledge 4Kids in any way, she prays you do not sue her. She also apologises for the crap that was last chapter. And save yourself, you've made me just as sappy as him!**_

_**Me:…..yeah…..running away now. Enjoy the chapter! *starts running like hell***_

_Chapter 10: Golden Eyes_

"_Okay!"_ Jehu slammed his fist onto the palm of his hand. _"I've decided!"_

Johan looked up from his book, staring at his spirit dully. "Decided what?"

"_Decided we're going to find a spirit and weapon and challenge them and win! Now!"_

"Why? Besides, I'm busy. I have to get this read by tomor-"

"_Screw the book! I'm bored! You're bored! It'll be fun!" _

"Whatever."

Jehu grinned. _"I honestly didn't think you'd agree." _In a flash of light, Johan and Jehu swapped places, and Jehu leapt off the bed and headed to the door. _((Now _let's_ go weapon-hunting!)) _

.:…:…:…:.

_-Judai, where are we going?-_ Haou asked for about the half-billionth time as Judai headed down the road.

_Somewhere._

_-Where's somewhere?-_

_Around._

_-…..and the reason your clone of a cousin isn't with us?-_

_He's busy._

_-Do you even know where we're going?-_

…_.not exactly….._

Judai looked up from his view of the pavement, standing on a crossing and waiting for the traffic light to turn green. He tapped his foot against the ground impatiently, glancing around.

"Rua!" A girl's voice; young, calling. Judai glanced backwards and saw a young girl – couldn't have been older than eight or nine- with turquoise hair chasing after a boy that looked pretty similar. "Rua, wait up!" she fell back, stopping next to Judai and trying to catch her breath.

The boy –Rua?- stood next to Judai, jumping up and down excitedly on one foot. "Ruka, stop whining! Look, we're nearly there!" he quickly glanced both ways on the street, and seeing no traffic he started walking along the crossing. Ruka stared up at the lights.

"Rua, it's not green!"

"But there's no traffic!" he called back, now halfway across. He'd paused in the middle of the road to yell back at his sister. "I'll be-"

Judai's eyes widened as he saw a flash of red turning the corner. A car? Judai watched as it turned to corner, speeding towards Rua. "Rua!" Ruka called. "Rua! Hurry!"

Rua glanced back at her. "Wha-" His eyes widened in horror as the car shot towards him, not slowing down. It seemed the driver hadn't seen him.

"RUA!"

Judai shot forward, hurtling across the road and pushing Rua out of the way.

_-JUDAIII!-_

Judai closed his eyes as the car slammed into him.

.:…:…:…:.

Jehu grinned wolfishly as he and the now solid spirit circled each other – him, excitedly, and them, wearily. He came to a halt, boot grinding into the cement. "Ready?"

The spirit appeared to be a man; he had spiky red hair and rather long ear lobes, wearing colourful clothes and a lot of jewellery. He had a pair of glasses on his nose, and had introduced himself as 'Amon Garam'. His weapon, a young teenage girl, had called herself 'Echo'.

Amon nodded. "Ye-"

Jehu didn't even give him time to finish the word; he struck forward and slammed his foot into Amon's ribs, earning a rather painful cracking noise. Echo gasped in horror as Amon fell to the ground a fair ways away, coughing up blood.

Jehu raised an eyebrow. "Apparently you weren't."

Amon stood up, glaring daggers at Jehu, who only grinned. "I'll give you five seconds to get ready."

Amon wiped the blood away from his chin. "Five…" Jehu held out his hand lazily, beginning the countdown.

"What?"

"Four…."

"_Jehu?"_

"Three…."

"What are you going to-"

"Two…."

"All right, I'm ready!"

"One…"

Amon stood with his fists out. "Bring it on!"

Jehu grinned. "Then you can consider it brought." He swung his hand forwards, leaning over as huge, pointed and jagged crystals shot out of the ground towards where he had pointed. Amon's eyes widened as he jumped to the side to evade the attack, getting sliced on the fell to the floor with a rather painful sounding _thud,_ and glanced up to see Jehu looming over him.

"See? I warned you. You could've just surrendered. Now, you're going to be destroyed." Jehu tutted before throwing his hand skyward. "Too bad, so sad." As he started speaking, a huge, sharply pointed dark red crystal appeared in the sky above him. Jehu's lips twitched, smile threatening to grow larger as his eyes shone manically.

"Here we GO!" On the last word, Jehu flung his arm down and jumped backwards as the crystal shot to the ground at amazing pace, and slammed through Amon's stomach, pinning him to the ground. Blood spurted from the now gaping wound as the crystal disappeared in a flash of ruby-coloured light, and Amon's eyes bugged before he fell limply onto the floor.

Then the spirit himself began glowing, and he vanished in a vaguely reddish coloured glow, leaving behind only a rather bloodstained red pendant, and a huge pool of the viscous, crimson red liquid. Jehu raised an eyebrow as he picked the pendant off the floor and brushed the blood off it before shoving it in his pocket. He glanced at Echo, who had fallen to the ground and was now sobbing hysterically at the sight of her spirit gone. Jehu shrugged, and turned to Johan.

"Didja see that? Didja didja? Wasn't I awesome?" Jehu jabbered happily as he grabbed Johan by the wrist and pulled him away from the scene. "Jo-chan, you may bask in my glow!" Johan glanced back at Echo, then stared at Jehu.

"_Well, that's another weapon you've left in tears. Why do you need to keep destroying them, anyway?" _Johan frowned, and Jehu paused to think.

"Umm….. be_cause_….. because….. I dunno…. Bad habit?" Jehu came out with eventually. He really had no idea himself, it was just that killing had been natural when he was alive, so why should it be any different when he was dead? It shouldn't. As he debated this reasoning with himself, he returned to Johan's form, taking his spirit's appearance while he himself was still in control.

Johan shook his head. _"God, Jehu, you-"_

"Rua!" The two glanced over to the source of the yell, and saw a young boy frozen in the centre of the road with a car speeding towards him. Jehu looked to the side; there was a young girl yelling, and the boy next to her…..

_(Isn't that Judai?)_

"Rua, hurry!" From his perch in the back of their mind, Johan watched, eyes wide, as Judai shot forward from the sidewalk, pushed the boy out of the way and was hit by the car himself. Jehu swore and raced to the scene as the car pulled over and a panicking driver ran to Judai's side.

"Judai!" Jehu yelled, kneeling next to the boy. His breaths were coming as huge, shuddery gasps. Blood was splattered all over him and matted his hair, almost completely covering the right half of his face from the forehead to his cheek. "Judai? Oh god, Judai!"

Inside his mind, Johan was panicking. _(Jehu! Is he okay?)_

_((Does he look it? Just… just give me a second!)) _Jehu rolled Judai over onto his back so he could breathe easier, then gently placed two fingers over his heart. It was hard to find, but there was definitely a soft, shaky pulse. Jehu immediately got to work; all those years of training when he was alive would finally come to use. The driver and the two children were all panicking, and Jehu seemed relatively calm compared to all of them.

"I….is he going to be all right?" the young girl whimpered while Jehu glanced up at her. He shrugged.

"Couple of broken ribs, a few have actually punctured his side. Huge gash on his forehead from where he hit the road, and possible some internal injuries I can't see," Jehu explained, taking Judai's shirt and tearing a huge strip of material out of it, which he wrapped around his stomach to try and slow down the blood flow. "He should be fine. Depends how fast we can get him to hospital." Jehu looked up at the driver. "You can take us, right?"

He nodded. "U-um…. Sure." Jehu carefully lifted Judai up off the ground bridal-style, and as the boy opened the door to the car he carefully placed Judai in an upright sitting position then sat down next to him.

"So drive us already!"

.:…:…:…:.

Edo clicked at about the fifth website that day, scanning the information then referencing it with the huge document of notes he'd taken. He sighed, finding a new site, then googling a new search word to try and get new results. It wasn't school work, but Edo wasn't going to leave until he was done. The topic?

The medieval ruler known of as The 'Supreme King.'

Edo had reason to believe it was Haou, but he needed evidence. He blinked as he came up with a new site, and grinned when he discovered it was a treasure trove of new information. With a smirk on his face, he began reading.

_The most feared ruler in all medieval history, a tyrant known of only as 'The Supreme Evil King', came to power after his peace-loving father died of old age and immediately made several changes to society life. He invaded several nearby kingdoms and conquered countless towns and lands, creating a huge empire that remained undefeated for the short ten years he was in power. No-one is really sure how his empire fell, but there are rumours that say he was betrayed by his servant, a knighted man that supposedly led the enemy into the main citadel when all was calm and no-one could expect the invasion. Others say his lover, the heir of a noble family whose name was never discovered, was forced to reveal the information to the enemy leading to the eventual take-over._

_There are also legends about certain people called, 'The Gifted', that were supposedly given powers by the gods that gave them incredible abilities. The Gifted were hunted and killed in all kingdoms except for the one that the Supreme King's father ruled when he was alive, in which they were only captured. However, many still feared them and killed them when they had the chance until they heard rumours that the king's son was gifted. The Supreme King was rumoured to be gifted due to his seeming immortality on the battlefield, as well as that he had glowing gold eyes. It is said that the servant that was supposed to have betrayed him was gifted as well, as well as his rumoured lover._

_Not much other information is available about the Supreme King's personal life, as he kept to himself, and it is said that no-one ever saw his face except for those he trusted. Everyone else would only see the black armour he wore, and the golden eyes glowing from beneath his helmet. _

Edo finished reading, and sat in silence as he digested the information. Glowing golden eyes? Haou had gold eyes. And the fact that his name actually translated to 'Supreme King' made it all the more suspicious.

Smirking, he favourited the page and sat back in his chair. _**Supreme Evil King Haou… I'm going to unravel you.**_

.:…:…:…:.

Johan paused as he touched the doorknob, and bit his lip. It had been three days since Judai had been admitted into the hospital, and he'd decided to go and visit him. Although, now that he was actually here, he was having second thoughts.

_(What if he's asleep?)_

_((Then we'll leave and come back later.))_

_(What if he doesn't want to see me?)_

_((Why would he not want to see you?))_

_(What if-)_

_((Just shut up and open the goddamn door.))_

Johan twisted the door knob, and opened it as a creaking noise filled the silent hallway. He stepped inside the pitch black room, trying to see. He found that after a few seconds, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, although that had only started happening when he'd synced with Jehu. Before that, he'd had to use humankind's built-in source of finding their way around a pitch-black room- his shins.

He could see a bed-shape, and Judai lying asleep on the mattress with his blankets pulled over him, up to his shoulders. Johan smiled softly, he looked absolutely adora-

Peaceful. Right. He looked peaceful while sleeping, something Johan hadn't been for months.

He flushed slightly. What was he thinking? Not adorable….

_((Face it, Jo-chan. You like the guy. I don't blame you. He looks like-))_

_(Like?)_

_((I mean, he looks adorable, he's so innocent, and…yeah.))_

_(That's not what you were going to say.)_

_((This conversation is __**over**__.))_

Johan took one final glance at Judai, and as he was about to step out of the room, he froze.

Because, a lone figure was standing over Judai in the darkened part of the room so that you couldn't see their face. You couldn't see any features, just the silhouette. Then one thing appeared to send chills up Johan's spine-

Two, glowing golden eyes.

Johan could feel himself freezing up, caught in the eyes' gaze, both attracted and repulsed at the same time. They narrowed, glaring at Johan. The blunette felt himself shivering, even though it wasn't cold and he was dressed warmly. Then a low voice;

"_You aren't welcome here."_

Johan didn't know what happened after that; he only regained his senses while he was sprinting out of the building with his breath catching in his throat. He glanced backwards at the building, trying to catch his breath.

_(What was that?)_ Johan asked frantically, completely unaware of Jehu's own sense of inner turmoil.

_((That…. That was….))_

_(…..Jehu? That was what?)_

_((That was… Haou.))_

**Dun-Dun-Dun-Dunnnnnn!**

**Chapter Ten! Wow, double digits already! I feel special.**

**Like I said last chapter, this one was very crucial for the plot. Those who wanted to see a bit of Haou's past, there you go! It's kind of flawed though, as all history is, but everything will be cleared up in **_**due course**_**. And how does Jehu know Haou? Did they meet in the Spirit Realm? Or was he alive at the same time? And who were the other Gifted? Edo's determined to find out, being the genius he is. Will he figure it out? Or will he die trying?**

**Please review, I feed off them. And like I was **_**trying**_ **to say before I was set on by Jehu and Haou, there were going to be two characters popping in to say hello. But they're gone now, I got Ryo to sort of glare at them and make them leave. But no biggie! Again, to those that reviewed THANK YOU SO MUCH! And I'm so sorry for the crap that was last chapter. I'll see you next time! *waves***

~Oak-chan


	13. Chapter 11: Manipulation

_Judi to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

_**:/AN/: **_

_**Me: Hiyas! Quick update, huh? Once again, I have a random character that's going to randomly say a word or two!**_

_**Edo:…hi?**_

_**Me: Yups! Edo Phoenix! In other words, the guy who's **__**trying**__** to figure out Haou's past for no adequately explored reason!**_

_**Edo: Why are you pointing out plotholes? And what was all that 'Will he figure it out? Or die trying?' stuff from last chapter? You had better not kill me off. **_

_**Me: XD that's for me to know and you to find out! Now say the overly clichéd line!**_

_**Edo:…..Oak -chan wants to say that she's going to call Martin 'Marcel', as per the English dub, because she hates the name Martin. Um…..Oak-chan does not own YGO GX as much as she would like to. YGO GX and all related **__**official**__** storylines (not fanfics) belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Toei Animation, Naoyuki Kageyama, Masahiro Hikokubo, Satou Masashi, Konami, Studio Dice, etc. And although she refuses to acknowledge 4Kids in any way, she prays you do not sue her…..hey, isn't that just what Haou said last time? **_

_**Me: Yup! That's why it's overly clichéd!**_

_**Edo:….if you kill me off, I'll kill you. If you're even **__**contemplating**__** killing me off, I will mutilate you so badly that if you looked in a mirror, you wouldn't recognise yourself. **_

_**Me:…yeah…..leaving now.**_

_Chapter 11: Manipulation_

Silence.

It was silence that filled the room, and silence that was his only friend. Silence, because he rarely heard anything else. He didn't know how long he'd been there, or why he was even there in the first place, but all he knew was that he was. So he sat there. Curled up in a tiny ball, trying desperately to keep himself warm, and keep his sanity.

No, that was a lie. He remembered how he got here.

It was just hard to remember sometimes. It was hard to remember anything, really.

He could barely remember his name, his parents, friends (or if he even had any), birthday…. He could just remember he was alive.

What was his name, again? It began with an 'M', he knew that much. Ma…. Mar….

Marcel?

That was it, wasn't it? Yes, he was Marcel.

He let out a small whimper, hugging his knees closer.

When had this happened? It was when 'he' came, wasn't it? Saying something about a competition… and revenge…. And weapons? Marcel had agreed, but he didn't understand what was happening. All he remembered was those eyes, piercing his soul and promising him the companionship he never had.

And now he was locked away in his own mind, and had been for who knew how long. Because of that… what was he?

Marcel paused. Who was he again?

He paused. He couldn't even remember his own name.

Who was he?

He couldn't remember…

.:…:…:….:.

The other boy stood in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection. He could see Marcel's dark hair, sallow eyes and pale skin, the overly sickly look he'd had to bear with for so long. Smirking, he cast aside the appearance, and took his own.

He found himself staring at a boy whose hair was long in the front (his bangs reached his shoulders), and hair that was short in the back. It was coloured black, or dark grey, whichever you preferred to call it. He had purple streaks running through his bangs towards the end, and the top of his hair sort of streaked pale towards the side, covering the left part of his fringe and turning it snowy white.

His skin wasn't tan, but it wasn't really pale. It was just in-between. He wasn't muscular, but not weak or fragile either. A pair of mismatched eyes stared back at him; one orange and the other turquoise. A cruel yet seductive smirk decorated his lips as it always did, and his eyes sparkled mischievously with the prospect of chaos.

His name? Yubel.

His purpose? He had many. On top of his agenda? Revenge.

Pure, sweet revenge. But first, he had to pay a certain someone a visit.

.:…:…:…:.

It was the middle of the night, so Judai certainly wasn't expecting visitors. Yet, as soon as the clock struck twelve, he heard a faint knocking on the door. A quick inquiry told him that Haou was fast asleep, but it still left the question of; who was it knocking at his door so late?

"Who's there?" Judai called softly, sitting up in his hospital bed and clutching at the blanket to try and mask his nervousness.

Because really, who hadn't heard the term 'Knocking on Death's Door'? Who said it couldn't go the other way around?

He was almost expecting a rather low, raspy voice to call out, "I've come for you, Judai Yuki". What he really didn't expect was a playful, melodious voice to answer in rather harmless tones; "Just a visitor! But I can come back later."

That voice….. It was undeniably male, yet so beautiful. It was playful and open, yet seductive and mysterious. It was that kind of voice that drew Judai in, and before he knew what had happened he'd answered; "No…come in."

The door clicked open, and in stepped what was quite possible the most beautiful being Judai had ever seen. He could feel himself blushing, and wondering why such a person would have come to see him. This…..person wasn't an adequate way to describe it, Judai could only say 'entity' walked into the room and took a seat on the bed next to Judai.

He was undoubtedly older than Judai, appearing to be twenty-one years old, or maybe more. A seductive, pouty smirk decorated his lips as he took one of Judai's hands with both of his own. "Hello, Judai."

Judai blushed. "How do you-"

"Know your name? We've met."

"I….I don't remember….."

Of course they hadn't met….. Judai would have remembered meeting such a person. The man smirked, and leaned closer to Judai, ending up next to the brunette's ear. "I…." he breathed, whispering as if telling Judai a great secret. "….am Yubel. We've met, but in a different form."

Yubel? What a beautiful name…..

Judai's blush only deepened as Yubel pulled away, staring into Judai's eyes with his own mismatched pair. It felt like Yubel was staring into his soul, and it didn't help that he had leaned forward so they were barely ten centimetres apart. Judai was so enraptured in Yubel's gaze that he didn't even notice the malicious smirk that had made its way into Yubel's lips.

"Judai…. I was hoping for a favour." Yubel breathed, staring deeply into Judai's eyes. As long as he had Judai like this, he would be completely in control. Judai would be like putty.

"S-sure…" Judai stuttered. "W…..what...?"

"Do you know a man named Jehu?"

Judai blinked, slightly distracted by Haou shifting in the back of his mind, threatening to wake up. "No…. I've never heard that name before….."

Yubel mentally cursed as an ugly emotion passed over his face. He quickly regained himself, and tried again. "What about….. Haou…?"

Judai nodded "…..yes…." he answered obediently, so caught up in Yubel's spell that he could barely think straight. He hadn't even paused to think about how Yubel knew that name, and what he wanted to know about him.

Yubel nodded, smiling softly. "Do you know where he is?"

"…he's my spirit…."

That small smile turned malevolent. "Good. Thank you, Judai." Yubel took Judai's other hand, holding both in his own, rubbing the back of the brunette's hand with his thumbs. "Can you do me another favour?"

Judai nodded; his blush had returned with a vengeance.

Yubel reached into his own pocket, and placed a slip of paper with a number on it in Judai's hand. Then he leaned forward, and placed his lips over Judai's own in a quick, chaste kiss. Pulling back, he asked; "If you do meet Jehu….. Call me, won't you?"

Judai couldn't stop himself from saying anything other than 'yes'.

.:…:….:…:.

The next day, Yubel pulled himself out of the bundle of blankets atop his mattress, yawning. Then he blinked, glancing over in the mirror. His eyes widened slightly. How could he have forgotten to revert to his weapon's form before returning home? In fact, he was rather lucky he'd seen his reflection before getting ready for school. He would have walked in a completely different person! Then there was the chance Judai would be there…

That would be disastrous.

And okay, so he hadn't learnt Jehu's whereabouts. He had Haou's, and that was the most important thing. He smiled, and in a flash of light, he regained Marcel's appearance. Now, the seductive smirk that always decorated his face appeared shaky and shy.

Outwardly, he seemed normal. Inwardly, he seethed.

Wasn't it ironic that it was Haou he had found, as opposed to Jehu?

Jehu…..

How he despised that name!

He wanted to kill Jehu, but since the man was already dead he would settle for torturing him in worst possible way. Lashing at him and tearing his skin, ripping it off and causing him so much pain, physical pain, of course, to match the emotional pain he'd made Yubel go through.

Yubel picked a piece of paper up off the table, then viciously tore it into shreds. He'd make Jehu pay. He wouldn't stop until he had him screaming for mercy. Then? He wouldn't destroy Jehu, that would be too kind. No, he would send Jehu far, far away….. Into the deepest corner of hell that no-one dared venture. And he would leave him there, to rot in agony for the rest of eternity.

Yubel sighed as he made his way out the door. Where was his bloodily beautiful future when he needed it? Now he was stuck in _school_, of all things. Other spirits might say that it was the perfect place to find opponents, but Yubel didn't care. What he did care about was revenge. And making sure that Haou….

Won the competition.

.:…:….:…:.

The second school had ended Edo had raced full speed to the hospital, heart threatening to burst out of his chest from pure excitement. Reason? Haou. He'd seen Haou's armour in battle, and organised a trip to the local museum. And upon describing it to the curator, it was a perfect match with the armour they had on display in their medieval exhibit.

Edo wasn't just a little sure. He was a hundred percent positive.

And now, Edo stood panting outside Judai's hospital room, desperately trying to catch his breath. With a winded grin, he pounded on the door, and paused, waiting for Judai's reaction. And there it came; a faint and muffled "Come in".

"Judai!" Edo yelled as he burst into the room. "Where's Haou? This is important!"

All he got was a rather blank stare from a half-asleep Judai. "….Edo?"

"Yes?"

"What?"

Edo sweatdropped, then took a seat on the bed next to Judai. "Is Haou here? No, wait, stupid question. Can I talk to Haou? This is important."

Judai shrugged, and an equally tired looking Haou appeared on the bed beside Edo.

"…_.what do you want, Phoenix?"_ Haou demanded, although his evident exhaustion removed any sort of threat that might have there.

Edo sent Haou a rather victorious smirk. "Haou, random question. Have you ever heard of anyone called the Supreme Evil King?" And that was all it took to get Haou choking on thin air.

"_W-what?"_ He spluttered as Judai looked on with renewed interest. _"Where'd you get that name?" _

Edo's smirk widened. "I did some research."

"On what?" Judai asked, glancing at Haou who was desperately trying to regain his composure.

Edo glanced at his cousin. "Haou's past."

Haou glared at him. _"Why?"_

"I was interested. Besides, you're the only one out of all the spirits I know who hasn't told us one word of their past." Edo shrugged, even though that wasn't true. He didn't know Jehu's, but he hadn't seen the guy for ages. "I wanted to find out more about you. So answer the question. Have you ever heard of anyone called the Supreme Evil King?"

Judai paused. "Hey, wait. Doesn't Haou translate to Supreme King?"

Edo nodded. "That's what got me onto it. Haou?"

Haou glared at them both before sighing and answering: _"Okay, yes. When I was alive, people called me the Supreme King. Happy?"_

"Very. 'Supreme Evil King Haou'….. What'd you do to get a title like _that_?"

"_A lot of things."_

"Apparently you were a regular tyrant."

"_Oh, so doing my job and expanding my kingdom automatically makes me evil. So it's okay when everyone else did it, but when I did it, it was pure sin!"_ Haou folded his arms and glared at Edo.

Edo's lips twitched. "No, it was the fact that you, along with several of your men, would go through villages and completely massacre everyone in sight."

"_As if no-one ever did that before."_

"You also attacked and conquered kingdoms that your father had already signed peace treaties with."

"_Paranoia. That's all it was."_

Judai smiled as Edo and Haou began bickering. Then, a sudden thought struck him. "Hey, Haou?"

"_What?"_

"When you died, you would look exactly like you did when you died, right?"

"_Minus all the war wounds, blood, and any sign of illnesses, yes."_ Haou glanced at him. _"Why?"_

Judai shrugged. "It's just that you must have died pretty young to have remained looking like you do."

Edo blinked, as if remembering something. "Oh, wait. I did read that you were only in power for about ten years."

Haou glared back at Edo_. "Your point?"_

"It also said that you were supposedly either betrayed by one of your knights, who led an opposing army into the main city and overthrew you, or that they captured your lover and forced them to tell them how to enter the city unnoticed, then led an opposing army into the main city and overthrew you." Edo recited, watching to see Haou's response.

Which was choking on some more air. _"W-where the hell did you hear that crap?"_ he yelled.

"Internet."

Judai grinned. "Haou, which one of those was it? And you had a lover? Wow."

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"I didn't think anyone would be able to put up with you."

Haou rolled his eyes. _"Very funny. No, I-"_ he froze, and stared down at his hands. _"I didn't have a lover,"_ he muttered. Judai instantly noticed the sudden change in tone.

"Haou, are you alright?"

"_Fine."_

Edo blinked. "So I guess that means you were betrayed by one of your knights?"

Haou paused, as if wondering how much to tell him. Eventually, he replied; _"I guess you could say that."_

Judai paused, suddenly remembering the events that had taken place in the park all those weeks ago.

.:…:…:…:.

_Did you ever have anyone like that in your life? Someone you trusted more than anything? Back when you were alive? _

Haou paused; remembering the past. He frowned; golden irises hardening. _–Yes.-_

_What were they like?_

_-Nnn. I don't care to remember.-_

_What do you mean?_

_-I just want to forget about them.-_

_Why?_

_-They…..betrayed me.-_

.:…:…:…:.

"So that's what you were talking about," Judai muttered, but neither Haou nor Edo heard him.

**Chapter 11! I really don't like how I wrote the last part, but sure, let's go with it. Yes, I decided to make Yubel a guy. Because in other fanfiction he's mainly a girl, so I decided to be different. Also, as you can see, I warped his personality a little bit, and changed his appearance a lot ( for his hair, it's a bit like Judai's hair style except a little longer)! Do you like it? And what connection does he have to Haou and Jehu? And yes! Edo was right about Haou! Everything's slowly falling into place, there's just one missing link that's going to reveal everything! Who was the knight that betrayed Haou? Is he actually important to the plot? And does anyone really care that I made Jehu murder Amon last chapter? No? Thought not.**

**BTB, a couple people were confused as to how Haou was there while Judai was as well. Well, Judai was solid, and Haou was in spirit form, but since Johan and Jehu can see spirits they could see him. That's all it was, really. **

**Please Review! I say that a lot, but please do it anyway! I need them to live (and they boost my morale, which I really need, because it's exam season)! By the way, I actually might not actually be able to update over the holidays. I'm going on vacation. And in the term 3 holidays, I'm goin' to freakin' HAWAII! XD but, alas, it's only term two. Thank you so much to those that reviewed! You guys are the best *Glomps***

~Oak-chan


	14. Chapter 12: Reunion

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan)_

_Judi to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_/-Yubel Thinking or Yubel to Marcel-/ (Wow, these little spirit things are getting more and more elaborate!) _

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

_**:/AN/: **_

_**Me: Hola! Hello again! Another exceptionally quick update to make up for the fact that you probably won't get one for like another two weeks. And-**_

_**Yubel: Hi!**_

_**Me: Yeah! It's Yubel popping in today!**_

_**Yubel: So, what're you gonna have me do? Please don't make me kiss Judai again.**_

_**Me: Don't worry, I won't. I think. Maybe.**_

_**Yubel: Am I the bad guy?**_

_**Me: Uhh…..maybe.**_

_**Yubel: :'( **_

_**Me: Ahh, you don't really care. You were the bad guy for like a whole season in the anime.**_

_**Yubel: I was misunderstood and confused.**_

_**Me:…..sure you were. Now say the line!**_

_**Yubel: Oak-chan does not own YGO GX as much as she would like to. YGO GX and all related **__**official**__** storylines (not fanfics) belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Toei Animation, Naoyuki Kageyama, Masahiro Hikokubo, Satou Masashi, Konami, Studio Dice, etc. And although she refuses to acknowledge 4Kids in any way, she prays you do not sue her! **_

_**Me: Wow, I'm actually getting out of this without a death threat. Please enjoy the chapter!**_

_**Yubel: What she said! *waves* **_

_Chapter 12: Reunion _

Judai had been discharged from the hospital over a week ago, but he still couldn't get his encounter with Yubel out of his head. It was almost as if the man had been toying with him, and Judai couldn't remember ever being able to think straight. Every time Yubel's name even crossed his mind, even for a fleeting second, his face would appear in Judai's mind, smirking that ever so seductive smirk. Judai blushed, remembering their rather short kiss.

Thank god he was hidden behind his locker door right then. He didn't want anyone to see him like that. Judai sighed as he slammed the door shut, then glanced to the side.

And yelped, but if you ask him it never happened.

"E-Edo?"

Edo grinned, watching his cousin's blush deepen. "So, Judai. What's up with you? You look rather flushed."

Judai heated up. "Nothing!"

"Your secret crush again?"

Yeah, Edo knew about Yubel. Both of them had been convinced Judai's encounter was a dream, until they found a scrap of paper with a number scribbled on it underneath Judai's pillow. Judai, however, hadn't mentioned the name of the spirit Yubel wanted him to find. Edo found that rather annoying, but what could you do? Judai hadn't told Haou, though. At the time he'd locked himself away in a corner of Judai's mind, muttering and cursing about kid geniuses and their bad habits of being overly nosy.

"….maybe."

"Yeah, sure. Course it was." Edo smirked. "I'm gonna hafta meet him sometime."

Edo had taken the whole thing on stride. Apparently he'd always known 'Judai wasn't straight'.

"Judai?"

"Hmm?"

"Random question, what do you think of Johan?"

Judai huffed and crossed his arms. "What about Johan? First day we meet, he asks me out, then after that he avoids me like the plague!"

"But he is cute."

"…perhaps."

.:…:…:…:.

School. One of the aspects of modern day life that Yubel had yet to understand. Holing up hundreds of adolescents with only a handful of adults to supervise them, praying that they chose not to get into fights or form some sort of uprising. Unfortunately, he himself had to go. As long as he was keeping up his charade of pretending to be Marcel, he had to go to avoid arousing suspicion. And being Marcel was definitely not all it cracked up to be.

Reason? Marcel was one of the most bullied students in the school. He was also rather sickly and frail, so people tended to think he wasn't capable of doing things others were. Now, this might have been alright for Marcel, but back when he was alive, status and condition definitely didn't get in the way of what Yubel would do.

He smirked slightly, as he turned the corner. He could see a fairly handsome silver haired boy chatting away with another, rather familiar two-toned brunette by the lockers. Judai. And although he had no idea who the silverette was, he was willing to bet they were related. There were subtle resemblances between the two, but they were _very_ subtle. You had to squint to see them.

Marcel himself only knew Judai by sight, and the fact that they had the same biology class. But Yubel knew him for what he really was. Student, weapon, and most importantly, Haou's host. He watched as the silver-haired boy waved and ran off towards class, and Judai shoved a couple of things into his locker and prepared to go after him.

Yubel glanced around the room. Deserted. Just him and Judai. Now or never.

"Judai!" He called, and the brunette turned around to face him. Judai blinked, obviously trying to put a name to the face.

"Umm…..you're…Mar….Marcel? That's it, isn't it?" He grinned. "What's up?"

Yubel smirked. "More than it seems." He closed his eyes, and paused as a familiar flash of light enveloped him. When the light faded, he was himself. Beautiful, seemingly perfect Yubel. He walked over to Judai, who had frozen, faint blush painted on his cheeks.

Obviously, as Yubel, he was no longer a head shorter than Judai. He was instead that much taller, around the same height as Haou. "Hello, Judai." He flashed Judai one of his smirks. "Been a while."

"Y…..yeah…." Judai stuttered, obviously completely overwhelmed by the fact that he was actually seeing Yubel again.

Yubel leant forward, so they were staring into each other's eyes. "I need another favour, if that's alright?"

Judai nodded slowly. "…..sure….."

He smiled. "That's good."

Judai stared at the ground, trying to desperately to conceal his blush.

Yubel's smile turned slightly sinister, but once again Judai didn't notice. He was caught up in his mind. Haou had woken up. And he was not happy.

_-Judai. Who the hell is that?-_

…_Yubel….._

_-Yubel? Judai, why would you….?-_

_Why would I do what?_

_- Yubel…..never mind! -_ Haou literally threw Judai out of control of his mind and locked him in a corner so he couldn't see what was about to happen, and in a flash of light appeared before Yubel. He wasn't wearing his armour; he was, like Yubel, in his host's school uniform.

Yubel blinked, then glanced back up, returning to full height so he could see Haou properly. He and Haou were almost exactly the same height, except the latter was a couple of centimetres taller.

"Yubel." Haou said in cold tones, staring Yubel straight in the eye.

"Haou," Yubel replied in a seemingly friendly voice, raising a hand in greeting. "It's been too long."

Haou's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

Yubel shrugged. "Same as you, I suppose. Competition this, competition that, truth be told I'm not too big on the thing. I've won a few matches, but…." He shrugged again, never once breaking eye-contact.

Haou paused. That….actually made sense. For a second there, he'd actually forgotten all about the competition. And why was he even so suspicious in the first place? He and Yubel weren't exactly enemies. Of course, the last time they'd seen one another they had both been murdered, but they had been on the same side. "Really."

Yubel quirked an eyebrow. "But I'm guessing you're in it to win it."

Haou smirked. "What did you expect?"

_/-He hasn't changed much, has he? But part of him seems…. More open. Friendlier.-/_ Yubel frowned. _/-Is that because of Judai?-/_

"Yubel, you were with Judai?" Haou's words snapped the spirit out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Yubel flashed him a small smile. "I was a little intrigued. You know, because of how much he looks like you."

Haou smiled, then paused. What was this sensation? He recognised it. That small, hesitant tugging at the back of his mind, and the fact that he couldn't get Yubel out of his thoughts. Completely focused on Yubel.

He could see the man nearing him; Judai had been against the lockers so he was completely backed up. Yubel placed his hands on either side of him; and Haou wrapped his arms around the man's waist. What was this again?

He could hardly control himself as they brought their lips together.

Did he really want to-?

Wait.

Wasn't Yubel famous for being gifted?

Warm lips began pressing against his own, he couldn't stop as they began to deepen the kiss.

Wasn't he famous for…?

Mind manipulation?

.:…:….:….:.

_((And that is why you should __**never**__, under any circumstances; flirt with someone straight after breaking up with your ex. Especially if said ex. happens to be nearby.)) _Jehu finished explaining as Johan frowned.

_(What brought up this conversation again?)_

_((I think it was watching that stupid soap opera with your mom last night.))_

Johan sighed as he turned the corner to enter the locker room. He'd been sent back from class, because he'd been a complete and utter idiot and left his textbook in his locker. _(Yeah, but-)_

He stared at the sight in front of him, and his eyes bulged. _(Oh my god.)_

Judai -well, it must have been Judai; how many other two-toned brunette's were at their school?- was pressed up against the lockers with a ravenette with a huge white streak and several small purple ones running though his hair in his arms, _making out._ It was pretty easy to see that.

"J-Judai…." Johan stuttered, staring at them. They hadn't even noticed he was there.

_((What, are you jea-)) _Then, in the back of Johan's mind, Jehu stared at them. Closely. Watched them open their eyes and exchange a couple of words, then go straight back to making out. Watching….

Wait. Golden eyes….. That wasn't Judai. And the other person-

_((Johan. I'm taking over.))_

_(What? Why?)_

_((This is really, really important.))_

_(Okay, but-) _Jehu didn't wait for him to answer, and took over in a flash of darkened, rainbow coloured light. Now, Johan's form was not only much taller, but his hair was a darker shade of blue, and his eyes were amber and shadowed over. He was still wearing the school uniform, though.

"Oi!"

Yubel and Haou immediately pulled apart, glancing over his way. And although it was for different reasons, their reactions weren't all that different.

Pure rage.

"Jehu-!" Yubel let out a low hiss, and Haou pushed him away.

"Jehu."

Jehu didn't smile. Instead, he stared at them with a mixture of fury and remorse in his eyes. "Yubel. Haou."

Haou's eyes narrowed as his sword appeared in his hand. "Jehu."

"…"

"I'm going to kill you."

**And now, the confusion. **

**Finally! Jehu, Yubel and Haou are all reunited! So Yubel's a mind manipulator. That would explain what happened with Judai. Why do Haou and Yubel hate Jehu? What happened, and why do they all know each other? Was Haou lying when he said he never had a lover? And was him kissing Yubel mind manipulation, or the real thing? You guys thought that Jehu was Haou's alleged lover, didn't you? Is he really? Have I been playing you all for fools? **

**Wow, next chapter is the official chapter thirteen. I honestly never thought I'd get this far. Thirteen's my favourite number, so next chapter might end up being something spectacular. Operative word, **_**might**_**. **

**Yubel: XDD I got to kiss Haou!**

**Me: Yes, you did. Anyway, to all that reviewed-**

**Yubel: And next chapter, we get to kill Jehu! XDDD**

**Me: Maybe. Like I was saying-**

**Yubel: Maybe this'll be happily ever after, after all! **

**Me:….aren't you supposed to have left by now?**

**Yubel:…..umm….maybe?**

**Me: **_**Any**_**way, to all those that reviewed, thank you so much! I love you guys!**

**Yubel: And, please drop a review on your way out! Or I'll sic Haou on you! XDD**

**Me:….yeah, remind me not to let him be a guest character again. **


	15. Chapter 13: Kill or be Killed

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan)_

_Judi to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_/-Yubel Thinking or Yubel to Marcel-/ _

_**Edo thinking, and/or Edo's psychic trances (Yes! He's finally getting some! Woot!) **_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

_**:/AN/: I don't own YGO GX and probably never will! (Key word, probably) It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi and co.! Also, Ai mai san cen! Soryapunitte koto kai! Cho!…also, I like pudding. Also, quick poll, should I just get on with the storyline or put in another filler? And, if possible, listen to Black Cat's first theme song, DAIA no Hana while reading this. It's what I listened to while writing it! Also (what's with all the also's?), I'm sorry for the delay! Blame my parents. That will be all. **_

_Chapter 13: Kill or be Killed_

Jehu flinched, and took a step back. "Haou," he started. "I don't want to fight."

Haou raised the sword so the light caught it, and his eyes shone with anger. "That's too bad. Because I do." The brunette started glowing with an ethereal golden light, and Yubel blinked in shock as he was enveloped by it. The raven glanced at Jehu, then added his own silver light to the mix.

Jehu covered his eyes, and when the light faded Yubel and Haou had taken their true forms. Haou was in his black armour, the golden tints sparkling somewhat maliciously in the light. Jehu winced. "Haven't seen you wear that for a while," he joked. "Man, you look serious. Lighten up, yeah?"

"What's to lighten up about?" Haou growled as Jehu's line of vision shot to Yubel.

Yubel caught his eye, and glared. Jehu noticed that he, too, was also kitted out in what he was wearing when he died.

Yubel had never had any qualms with dressing to impress, and his current outfit certainly rose to the occasion. He had on a very dark purple, almost black, long-sleeved shirt with a high collar, and around the shoulders it cut off to display pale, bare skin, and rejoined the shirt around his upper arm to fall down to his wrists as long, bell sleeves. Around the chest, there was a triangle shape cut out of his shirt to expose part of chest. As for his pants, they were black, and one legging cut off just below his knee. He also had a pair of boots on.

Jehu stared at him, remembering how he used to wear that sort of thing all the time. His line of vision shot to underneath Yubel's eyes; underneath each one was a sort of fang shape, ending at his cheek. The left fang was blue, the right black.

The blunette's eyes flicked between Haou and Yubel, then widened as if he had just realised how much trouble he was in.

"Jehu, take _me_ on," Yubel hissed, reaching to his side as an ornate dagger appeared in his hand.

Jehu smirked. "Sure!" Then the smirk was wiped right off his face as Yubel began glowing with silver light. Jehu stared as Yubel leapt into the air while huge, gothic black demon-wings shot from his back, flapping to hold him airborne.

The blunette sweatdropped. "I want a second opinion!"

Haou glanced up at Yubel. "So you'll get one. Yubel, I want to kill him." The raven frowned, and reluctantly sunk to the earth. The brunette lifted his sword and pointed it Jehu's way. "Take your true form. I'm all for killing you, but I want your pendants when this is over," he drawled.

Jehu nodded. "Sure….. I think."

_(Jehu….what's going on?)_

_((Johan, I'm sorry.))_

_(What?)_

_((I'm probably….. not going to survive this.))_

_(Jehu-!)_

_((I don't want you to watch.)) _Blocking out Johan's protests, he sealed the boy in the farthest corner of his mind. "Fine. But I'm not going to fight back." He commented dryly as his darkened, rainbow coloured light enveloped him. Haou frowned, and waited for the flash to fade. And his eyes shot open straight afterwards.

Jehu had a tight-fitting black singlet on, and the collar reached up his neck. He also had dark grey pants on, which were tucked into black combat boots that reached just below his knees. Over the top of his clothes was some sort of cloak; it was dark blue and sleeveless, and had two huge buckles strapped across his chest to hold in place. It fell to his knees, and had strange studs in it like silver bullets. Jehu's skin were tan and muscle was evident, and on the upper arm on each side there was a black buckle-up strap. On his wrists were two strips of tight-fitting, matching black material.

If anything, Jehu fit the role of warrior perfectly.

Haou's eyes clouded over. Seeing Jehu like that brought back a lot of memories, most of them he'd wanted to forget. Jehu noticed his obvious discomfort, and smiled softly. "Yeah, memories, right?"

"Shut up!" Haou yelled, blinking desperately to try and stop the tears welling up in his eyes. "Just…. Shut up." Yubel stared at the brunette sadly, then turned back to Jehu.

"Haou-" Jehu started, then froze as Haou stared at him with glowing golden eyes. He remembered those eyes. Haou's eyes would always start glowing whenever his emotions ran high, just like a cat. Whether those emotions were anger, hate, sadness or happiness, they would always start glowing that eerie golden glow.

"Jehu…. I'll kill you!" Haou yelled. "And you had better fight back….. I've been waiting five hundred years for this!" Jehu nodded slowly as Haou was surrounded by strange circles of pulsating golden light. The magical spheres circled around him, threatening to shoot forward at any second.

"Well?" Haou asked dully. "Aren't you going to do something?"

Jehu frowned. Something was up. Haou seemed really out of it, and his eyes had suddenly lost their glow. Almost as if…. He glanced at Yubel, then immediately threw the thought out of his head. No. No way. There was no way Yubel would sink that low. Was there? He turned back to Haou, holding his hands up as a jagged katana appeared in each one.

"Ready? Go!" Haou yelled; throwing his hands forward. Jehu's eyes narrowed as the beams of light shot at him, and he ducked to evade the first few. Rolling to the side, he moved completely out of the path of the beams, letting them crash into the wall behind him, blasting a huge hole through it. Sitting on the ground, he stared at the destruction. "Wow…." He muttered, then his eyes shot up.

"Hey!" He protested, using both blades to block Haou's sword. He stared into Haou's eyes, seeing the determination behind them as the brunette pushed down on the sword, trying to get Jehu to give. It wouldn't happen, though. Jehu had always been stronger in physical combat.

Eventually, Haou pulled back, swinging his arm forward to shoot another blast of the golden light at him. Jehu frowned, moving his hand upward. And matching his movement, several huge crystals shot out of the ground and surrounded him, each shining a different colour of the rainbow, albeit a darkened and more malicious version.

Jehu winced as the energy blasted into the crystal; the impact was huge and he was honestly surprised his makeshift shield didn't give. He pulled the shield back, and let the crystals sink back into the ground and stood up with shaky steps. "Huh…." He muttered. "…..I don't remember that one…. You must've learnt it when I wasn't there….."

Haou growled angrily. "You're so arrogant! Don't you get it? This isn't practice like all those other times! I'm really going to kill you, you idiot!"

Jehu smiled softly. "Funny how we call it killing, but we're already dead."

"What's wrong with you?"

Jehu shrugged. "A lot of things, really. Haou…." He stared at the brunette. "…..why are you doing this? Why are we fighting?"

Haou glared at him angrily. "You know why! You….." he stared at the floor. "…..I don't even need to tell you."

Jehu frowned, letting the katana in his hands vanish in rainbow coloured light. "Haou..."

Haou glanced up, standing up straight as he took on a golden glow. "I'm not holding back, so don't you dare give up!"

.:…:….:….:.

Edo glanced around the classroom, searching for his cousin. Judai still wasn't back yet, and he definitely wasn't the only one to notice. Rei, who was sitting next to him, whispered in his ear; "Edo…. He's not back yet. Should we go look?"

Edo nodded slowly. "It's been way too long." He looked back. "And have you noticed? Johan isn't here either."

Rei stared at the ground. "Neither is Marcel. They were all here earlier. Let's go now…." Edo nodded again, raising his hand. Ayukawa glanced back at him.

"Yes, Mr. Phoenix?"

"Ayukawa-sensei, you've probably noticed Judai, Johan and Marcel aren't here." Edo said slowly as the other students began to buzz with gossip.

Ayukawa nodded. "Yes. Why?"

Rei stood up, catching everyone's attention. "Can we go look for them? We're worried they might be in trouble."

Ayukawa shrugged. "That's probably a good idea. Go." She pointed towards the door, and Rei and Edo hurried out.

"Lucky we have such a soft teacher…." Rei muttered, leading Edo down the hallway. "Let's get Ryo."

Edo paused. "Why?"

Rei stared at the floor, flushing slightly. "Umm…. I'm worried. If they've gotten into trouble…. We might not be able to help…." Asuka appeared beside her in spirit form, nodding.

"_I'd feel a lot safer if Nii-chan was with us." _Asuka agreed, and Edo sighed.

"Fine. We get Marufuji and Fubuki. But they'd better not slow us down."

.:…:….:….:.

Yubel watched in shock as Haou threw attack after attack at Jehu, with the latter just barely defending himself. But it was obvious he was only doing just that because Haou told him to. _-/Why isn't he fighting back?/- _he asked himself. _-/Does he really….._

_-/…..love him?/- _

.:…:….:…..:.

Edo let out a cry of shock as a huge wave of pain shot through his forehead. He stopped running and fell to the ground, cradling his head.

Rei skidded to a halt and glanced backwards. "Edo? Edo, what's wrong?"

Edo didn't answer; by this point he was too far lost in his own subconscious.

_**.:...:…:…:.**_

"_**Jehu!" **_

_**Edo glanced to the side as the vision began to take form; he was in the locker room that he'd just left Judai in. He watched as Haou rushed forward, striking at Jehu furiously while the latter barely defended himself; blocking each blow with twin katana blades. **_

_.:Flash:._

_**It was the same room, but now it was aflame. The flames licked at the walls while Johan and Judai lay unconscious –or were they dead? -on the floor.**_

_.:Flash:._

_**Now he was outside, among panicking students as the flames enveloped the whole west wing of the school. He stared around; Judai and Johan were the only people he could see as absent. He glanced back at the burning building, filling with dread. Were they….**_

_**.:…:…:…:.**_

Edo glanced back up, eyes shooting open as he heard Rei calling his name over and over. "R-Rei…." He groaned as Rei helped him to his feet. "We need to hurry…. Or something bad's going to happen…."

Rei nodded. "We're here, look! That's his classroom there!"

Edo snapped out of his drowsiness, wrenching open the door to Ryo's class. Students stared at him in shock, while the teacher started voicing his protests. The silverette immediately located Ryo; he was mouthing "What the hell are you doing?" at Edo frantically. "What…. Young man, just what do you-" the teacher started huffily.

"Haou." Edo cut in, staring directly at Ryo.

Everyone frowned. That class's teacher just stared at him in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

"Haou." Rei instantly caught onto what Edo was trying to do; Ryo and Fubuki should be the only ones who knew who and what Haou was. "Ryo, please?"

Now everyone turned to face Ryo. The blunette growled angrily; standing up while his chair fell to the floor with a clatter. "This had better be good," he just about shouted, shoving his books into his bag. Then he strode to the doorway and yelled back at the teacher; "I'll be back. Later. Maybe."

Then the three were gone.

"What's this all about?" Ryo asked in annoyance, keeping perfect pace with Edo and Rei while Asuka and Fubuki trailed after them.

"I had a vision!" Edo explained. "The school was on fire, and Haou and Jehu were fighting, and I don't know what happened to Johan and Judai but they looked dead!"

Asuka frowned. _"A vision?"_

Fubuki grinned. _"Didja forget, sis? Edo's psychic!"_

"Who's Jehu?" Ryo demanded as they turned the corner, catching strange glances from all the students staring out of their classroom windows into the corridor.

Edo sweatdropped. "He's Johan's spirit. I met him on my first day."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Everyone yelled.

"He threatened to kill me!" Edo shot back just as they reached the locker rooms. The five paused, listening to the sounds of yelling, and the clashing of blade against blade. Fubuki sweatdropped.

"_That sounds like Haou…" _He grinned sheepishly, referring to the angry yells. _"And he sounds really, __**really**__ pissed off."_

Edo frowned, flinging open the door with an almighty crash. As the five filed into the room, Edo realised just how accurate his prediction was.

He'd always known that Jehu was violent, and he'd figured that he, like Haou, would be near undefeatable in battle. Judging by the fact that his eyes were inhumanly coloured, he could only guess that he was also gifted. And since it was obvious that the Gifted had an advantage in this competition, Jehu would be doing just fine.

How wrong he was.

Like the vision, Haou was fighting full out, and Jehu was barely defending. Cuts littered his arms from where he hadn't quite managed to block Haou's blade, and a huge slash was gushing blood down the blunette's cheek. Ryo frowned, while Fubuki, Asuka and Rei's lines of vision just kept shooting from Haou, to Jehu and back again.

"_Hey," _Asuka started. _"Jehu looks like….."_

"Johan." Ryo said grimly; he'd spotted the third man in the corner, eyes flicking desperately between the two that were fighting. Eventually he realised everyone was watching him, and he let his wings flare out, almost as if trying to intimidate them.

"Leave," he hissed as a huge, rose tentacle covered in thorns shot out of the ground. "Now."

Rei and Asuka squealed and stepped back, but Ryo didn't back down at all. "No. What the hell is going on in here?"

The winged man frowned, hands fisting up. "It's nothing to do with you!" he yelled as Edo pushed past the blunette to properly see the action.

"Haou!" he shouted, trying desperately to catch the brunette's attention. "Jehu! What the hell are you two doing?" Haou paused, then returned straight back to attacking Jehu.

"Phoenix, leave!"

"No! Jehu, can't you stop him?" Edo yelled desperately as Jehu glanced at the silverette. "At this rate…" he cut off.

Jehu growled, pushing Haou back against the wall. "What do you think I've been trying to do? Beating Haou isn't a walk in the park, y'know!"

"Idiot! You aren't even fighting, we all know that!" Haou yelled, throwing balls of shining golden light Jehu's way. "So fight already!"

Jehu's eyes narrowed, and he threw up his own hands to create another shield of crystal to block the attack. As the light hit the crystal, it let off a huge explosion that threw both of them backwards.

"HAOU!" Yubel yelled frantically, running forward to help Haou to his feet. "Are you alright?" Haou nodded, staring at the result of the explosion. A small fire had started in the middle of the room, and smoke had already started to fill the area. His eyes narrowed.

"Ryo. Fubuki. Edo. Asuka, Rei." The two glanced back to Haou as Yubel stared at them curiously.

'Haou, who are the-"

"Get Yubel out of here. Like _now_." Haou pointed at Yubel while the ravenette just stared at him in shock. Ryo shrugged, stepped forward, grabbed Yubel by the wrist and started dragging him out of the room.

"Hey! Let go!" Yubel protested, struggling desperately. But he was nowhere near strong enough to get Ryo to let go. "Right now!"

Fubuki smirked and grabbed his other wrist. _"Let's go!" _ He started pushing Yubel out into the corridor. _"Forward, march! Hey, you have wings!"_

Asuka chased after the three while Rei and Edo glanced back at Haou. "Are you gonna be okay?" Rei asked worriedly, while Haou shrugged and pointed to the door.

"Out. You too, Phoenix." He said monotonously, while both he and Jehu faced off against each other. Rei followed the others while Edo spared a glance at them before racing after her.

Jehu smirked slightly, wiping blood and sweat out of his eyes. "You have strange friends, y'know…"

Haou's eyes hardened. "They're not my friends. They're friends of my weapon, and for some reason, they feel obliged to help me. That's all."

Jehu frowned. He had always, _always _hated spirits referring to their hosts merely as 'weapons'. It made it sounds like they weren't real people. "Your 'weapon'? Haou, please tell me you aren't one of the ones that don't give a shit about their hosts."

"Like you care. Besides, what's the point of becoming attached to them? You're just going to end up leaving them anyway." Haou smirked. "Did you hear about what happened in the last Spirit Competition? One spirit and weapon became so attached that when it came time for the spirit to go back to the realm, their weapon _committed suicide _just so they could be together, because they couldn't bear being apart. It was almost like they'd become a permanent _part of each other._"

_((What? No, Johan-!) _Jehu's eyes widened as Haou continued. "Besides that, since when have you ever really cared about anyone? You _do_ remember what happened, right?" Haou let out a wolfish snarl. "Because I sure as hell do."

Jehu bit his lip. "Haou, please. It wasn't like that. Just let me explai-"

"Explain _what? _What do you want to explain? How you betrayed me- betrayed _us_? How you betrayed _**the entire kingdom**_?" Haou yelled, striking at Jehu again, this time just with his fist. Jehu caught it, staring down at Haou.

The brunette wasn't looking at him; his bangs covered his eyes while shaky sobbing sounds came from him. Jehu sighed sadly, cupping Haou's face and bringing it up so he could see.

Tears rolled down Haou's cheeks as his fist fell limply to his side. Jehu wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close. "I'm sorry…. I'm so sorry…." He whispered, cradling Haou gently. "Please…forgive me, Haou….."

Haou looked up. "Jehu…. You are such an idiot….." He stared back across the room, at the fire that was growing larger by the second. At this point, it had spread to the walls and was licking at the ceiling, smoke quickly filling the room.

Jehu smiled sadly. "Maybe, but I still love you."

Haou smiled. "I know."

And as they brought their lips together, tears fell heavily and soaked their clothes. And they both stayed there, never moving, oblivious to the chaos ensuing around them.

.:…:….:….:.

"Is everyone here?" Ayukawa asked worriedly, checking names off the roll from outside the burning building, surrounded by her panicking students. "Johan, Judai?" She glanced around. "Oh, no…."

_**Tah-dah! It's over! Not. Next chapter explains EVERYTHING. And I mean EVERYTHING. Please wait for it! And get ready for the confusing love triangle! **_

_**So who's with who, and who did what? What did Jehu do? Who was the love and who was the knight? Yubel or Jehu? And will Johan and Judai survive the fire? I'll leave you to ponder those while I go to lunch XD **_

_**Once again, I am really sorry for the delay. My parents took me on holiday. ALL FREAKIN' VACATION. D: **_

_**Please review! I need them to live! And remember, I love you lots :3**_

_**~Oak-chan**_


	16. Chapter 14: The Truth, pt1

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan)_

_Judi to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_/-Yubel Thinking or Yubel to Marcel-/ _

_**Edo thinking, and/or Edo's psychic trances **_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

_**:/AN/: Here it is! The one you may or may not have been waiting for! The one that starts to explain Haou, Jehu, and Yubel's pasts in detail! Please enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **_

_**This chapter's a little lengthy, so I have to break the whole Haou-Jehu-Yubel past plotline into two chapters. Sorry. I'll end it epically. I can almost guarantee what happened is going to shock you. And no, before you ask, I don't particularly mind hurting characters. Being the sadist that I am, I go out of my way to try and make their lives hell. I find not going easy on them spices up the plot. So expect a lot of everyone-bashing. And by the time this story is over, at least one major weapon will have died. Yes, WEAPON. I'm not saying who. After this lil past subplot, it's back to the competition though. Who do you thinks going to win? Place your bets, people….Over and Out!**_

_Chapter 14: The Truth_

"Judai! Johan!" Ayukawa's voice rose to little more than a shriek; the rest of the class was already panicking. "Oh my god, what if they're still in there? What do we do?"

Edo could already feel his heart sinking. The third and final part of his vision had been fulfilled. Johan and Judai were trapped inside the burning building. And he somehow doubted Haou and Jehu had been able to get them out of there in time, if they would at all. But wouldn't they have the sense to stop fighting and leave once the fire had gotten out of control?

Rei bit her lip anxiously as Asuka tried to sense any signs of a spirit battle raging inside the school. Nothing. Not one spark. "Edo…" Rei tugged anxiously on the sleeve of Edo's uniform. "…..are they going to be okay?" Edo shook his head, about to answer when he was grabbed by the shoulder and wrenched around to face one angry Yubel.

Yubel, it seemed was Marcel's spirit, and had taken on his form. So, needless to say, it was rather unnerving for both Rei and Edo to see such a fury filled expression on Marcel's face. "This is your fault," Yubel hissed, fingers digging into Edo's shoulder. "It's your fault Haou's trapped in there! If you and those stupid friends of yours hadn't made me leave I could have gotten him out of there!"

Edo smacked Yubel's hand away. "It's not our fault! If you want someone to blame, look at Haou, because he's the one that told us to get you out of there! And you know _why_ he told us to get you out?"

Yubel's eyes narrowed as Edo continued. "It was because he was worried about _your_ safety! He was trying to help _you!_ So don't go blaming us!"

"You little b-"

"Stop it!" Both Yubel and Edo's lines of vision shot to Rei, who was standing with her hands on her hips and glowering at them. However, the effect of her scowl was lost thanks to the look of pain and worry filling her eyes. "Just stop it! Arguing isn't going to get them out of there!" she demanded. Yubel and Edo shot one last look of hatred at the other before turning their backs on them.

"Fine!"

"Rei, Edo, Marcel…" The three turned to see Ayukawa staring at them sadly. "Rei, Edo, you went to go look for Marcel and Johan and Judai….. Right? Did you find the other two?" she asked softly. Rei opened her mouth to speak, then immediately thought better of it. Edo shook his head.

"No. I'm sorry, sensei." He said, lying through his teeth. "We only found Marcel."

"Oh, I hope they're oka-"

"LOOK! IT'S JOHAN! AND JUDAI!" The four of them shot around to find the source of the yelling. And sure enough, Johan and Judai were staggering out of the front door, leaning heavily on each other for support. They were both mainly staring at the ground with their bangs covering their eyes as they stumbled down the steps while fire-fighters rushed inside the building.

Rei and Yubel let out simultaneous sighs of relief while Edo frowned. To him, it looked like the two of them were _deliberately _covering their eyes. As Johan and Judai made their way over to the class, they were bombarded with questions and yells. But, ignoring them all – which was a very un-Johan and un-Judai-like thing to do-, they just walked straight through the crowd to Edo, Rei, and Yubel.

As soon as they were there, Johan let go of Judai and walked off by himself while Rei gushed her relief at the stationary brunette. Yubel stood back smiling; he had no doubt in his mind Jehu had been destroyed, either by Haou or the fire. Edo, however, stepped forward and immediately glomped Judai.

"Judai, you scared us, you idiot!" Edo scolded, though he was actually smiling.

"Watch it, Phoenix. I'm not your huggable little cousin." A voice that was most definitely _not_ Judai's growled as he pushed the silverette off and glared at him with golden eyes.

"Haou!" Yubel exclaimed happily; he just _knew _it! Rei swapped tactics and started gushing her relief at _him_, while Edo and Haou engaged in a staring contest.

Then, to just about everyone's surprise, Edo reached forward and hugged Haou.

"Oi! What part of, 'I'm not Judai'?" Haou protested, unable to pull himself out of Edo's grip. "Let go, brat! Why the hell are you hugging me, anyway?"

"Because I'm _relieved_, idiot!" Edo grumbled, pushing himself away. "You should be glad we even cared, what with your bad attitude." He paused, blinking. "What happened in there, anyway? That wasn't Johan that came out with you. It was Jehu."

Haou frowned. "We were fighting when the fire got out of control. We decided the safety of our hosts was more important, and got out. _That's it._"

Rei smirked. "Sure, sure." She said teasingly, leaning forward with a grin.

Haou glanced at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

It was Edo's turn then. "You know…."

"No, I don't!"

Rei's grin grew even larger. "Jehu, wasn't it? Cute, isn't he?"

Yubel gasped while Haou flushed scarlet. "Shut. Up. Saotome!" he snapped angrily, desperately willing his blush to disappear. Edo raised an eyebrow.

"Haou blushing. Now _there's _a sight I never thought I'd see," he mused. "Guess Rei was right then?"

"Shut up! Just shut up, all of you!"

"_Love-_**struck!**" Rei sang. "You could just _tell_ by the way you looked at him! Under all that hatred, a sense of loneliness…." She grinned. "….and _lust_….."

And with that, she and Edo burst out laughing while Haou started yelling profanities at them. But without any of them noticing, Yubel slipped into the crowd and disappeared from sight.

.:…:…:…:.

Later that day, when Edo and Judai made it back to the latter's house, and after Reiko had finished shrieking her worries at her son and nephew, they actually made it to the brunette's room. Both of them had decided it was time for the truth.

Little did they know, Jehu was about to receive a thorough interrogation from Johan, too.

"Haou, tell us!" Judai demanded from their seat on his bed; Judai and Edo both facing a surly spirit Haou. "We deserve to know, so tell us what happened when you were alive!"

"_Like what_?" Haou asked sullenly, glaring at the two of them.

"Like how you know Jehu!" Edo burst out. "Who's Yubel? And why did he come ask Judai if he knew where you two were! Everything!"

"…_..If I tell you, will you get off my back?"_

"Yes!"

"…_.I suppose it started with my parents, the king and queen of our kingdom at the time. Despite how much they tried, they could not create an heir to the throne. So, they were forced to adopt me. Secretly, behind the scenes. No-one would be the wiser. So they thought."_

.:…:….:…:.

Unknown to them, Johan and Jehu were having the same conversation on the other side of the city. _"You know, there's a reason hardly anyone saw Haou's face."_ Jehu said thoughtfully. _"It's because if anyone looked at him, they would instantly know he had absolutely no relation to the king and queen of that time whatsoever."_

.:…:…:….:.

"_My adoptive father and his cousin decided one night that their first children would marry. Regardless of gender, they would marry. And so there was me, and my cousin Yubel." _Haou sighed as Edo nodded.

"So Yubel was put down in the book as your alleged lover, even if he wasn't really. Because of your arranged marriage," He said thoughtfully. "That explains a lot."

Judai blinked. "You married Yubel?"

Haou shook his head. _"No. It never actually came to be. The two of us got on quite well, but never in that sense. Moving on. The Gifted- you've heard of them, right, Edo?"_

"People that were supposedly blessed by the gods with amazing powers should they learn how to control them."

"_Right. The people in not just our kingdom, the entire country were afraid of the Gifted. Afraid of what they could do. And for that reason, they were hunted down and killed. The only area they weren't was in our kingdom, because my father was against violence and forbade it. Even so, a lot of the Gifted were still targeted for what they were. In fact, it stayed that way until it was revealed I myself was Gifted. It was only then they were left alone." _Haou paused. _"And my father decided to recruit as many Gifted into our army as possible."_

"Makes sense." Judai grinned. "Gifted with awesome powers could kill people just….like…._**that!**_" he snapped his fingers for effect. "They'd be unstoppable!"

Haou nodded in agreement. _"That's the general idea. And roughly around the time I turned eleven, my father found an abandoned child on the streets. A Gifted boy with boundless potential. Just like myself. That boy was-"_

"Jehu!" Edo and Judai cut in simultaneously.

"_Right. Jehu. He was too young to be recruited into the army, but he was my age, so my father enlisted him to be my…bodyguard, of sorts. That way, he could look after me and at the same time; learn how to control his gift while I did. Foolproof. So he thought."_ Haou trailed off thoughtfully.

.:…:…:…:.

"So you had to work for Haou, as a servant." Johan continued from where Jehu who had left off. "Why'd you just start there? What about your childhood?"

Jehu shook his head. _"It's not important. It's completely irrelevant to what you asked me to tell you." _He grinned. _"Phrasing, Jo-chan, phrasing. Anyway, when I initially heard I was being requested, i.e. forced to become the king's son's servant, I was pretty sure I'd hate it. What would you think of a prince? Spoilt rotten, bad-tempered and snotty…. Could you really blame me?" _he trailed off, smiling softly.

Johan raised an eyebrow. "And judging by that dreamy smile on your face, you didn't and he wasn't."

"_Nope! Haou wasn't like that at all! Sure, he was kinda antisocial and got kinda grumpy most of the time, but he was absolutely adorable and funny, in his own dark, sarcastic way. I didn't hate my job, I loved it!" _Jehu's grin widened. _"Haou was like an adorably sullen Judai back then!"_

"So, what happened?"

"_Oh, Haou hated me at first, but I think we grew on each other."_

"What makes you say that?"

Jehu smiled knowingly. _"Because of when the country went to war a year later. Troops, and all Gifted were to go to fight. So for the period of time I was away, I was going to be replaced by some stuffy old knight. Haou kept saying how glad he'd be when I was gone, but before I left…." _Amber orbs sparkled. _"That was so sweet…."_

"What was sweet? What happened?" Johan was hanging on his spirit's every word.

"_He said…."_

"He said what? Jehu!"

"_He said if I died, he'd kill me and never forgive me."_

"….that's sweet?"

"_Trust me, this is Haou. For Haou, that __**is**__ sweet." _

"Haou has issues."

"_Don't we all."_

.:…:…:…:.

"So what you're saying is, you had a crush on Jehu." Edo smirked. "Even back then."

"_I did not!" _Haou hissed angrily.

"Did too and still do~!" Judai chimed teasingly. "Aww, how cute!"

"_Shut up! Anyway, that war lasted maybe two months. I can still remember what happened the day that idiot came back…."_

.:…:…:…:.

"Freed," a much younger Haou asked simply, playing with the sheets on his bed. "The war's over, right? When's everyone coming back?" An armoured knight with long blonde hair stared out the window, watching for the sign of enemies approaching.

"Tonight, my lord. Any warriors left alive on our side will be returning this evening. What ails you?" he replied monotonously, glancing back at the evidently bored golden-eyed child sitting on his double bed with his legs crossed. "Is it that servant boy that went to war? What was his name again? Jesse?"

"Jehu."

"My mistake. Is it worry for him?"

Haou gazed out the window drearily. "I could care less about that scum."

Freed smiled softly. "If it isn't too bold to say, milord, I'd wager you were _exceptionally _worried about that….eh…. _scum, _as you put it."

Haou glared at the knight. "That _is_ too bold."

"Then I apologise."

.:…:…:…:.

Later that evening, Haou waited expectantly for Jehu to come bursting through the door, yelling something about how much fun he'd had. Freed had left to go and record the names of those who returned safe; writing each name down as they entered the courtyard single file.

Ten minutes passed. Nothing. No Jehu. Just triumphant yells and cheers coming from outside. Haou stared his bedroom window, watching the soldiers pour into the courtyard, some leaving straight afterwards, and some entering the castle. He scanned through the crowds, watching for a speck of blue that would unmistakably be Jehu. Nothing.

Twenty minutes passed, and still nothing. And Haou waited impatiently as two, long, agonising hours passed with no sign of Jehu.

Haou stared at the floor. "Why do I care so much…?" he muttered, pacing across the room. "No way Freed was right. I mean," He continued, "He's just a servant. Completely replaceable. So why am I so worried about that moron…?" he collapsed on the bed with a groan.

"Moron. Idiot." He sat up, and with each new insult he punched his pillow. "Dolt. Retard. Jehu…." He lay down again, sighing softly. "….where the hell are you?"

As the lay in silence, another ten minutes passed. Then a slow, hesitant knock on the door. Haou sat up quickly, about to yell, then caught himself. _–Don't let the idiot think you were worried, - _he told himself, then called in slow, rather bored tones; "Door's unlocked, y'know."

But instead of Jehu walking in through the door, it was Freed. Haou desperately tried not to let his disappointment show, but it didn't get past Freed. "Milord, the boy…. Jehu…. He didn't come through. I'm sorry."

"…..you mean, he's dead?"

"Most likely, milord."

"…." Haou bit his lip, turning away from Freed. "…..good. He was so annoying."

Freed raised an eyebrow. "Really, milord."

"…you can leave."

"Yes, milord…." Freed bowed and exited the room while Haou groaned. That man had no personality! Thank god Jehu wasn't like that…. Haou would have been driven insane.

As soon as the door was shut Haou kay back down against the pillow, sighing softly. "So you're dead. Great. Just fucking great." He blinked; the brunette could feel something wet running down his cheeks. He wiped at his eye desperately, trying to stop himself crying. "My god…. Why am I crying…?" Haou muttered, burying his face in the pillow. "Jehu…."

He broke into sobs. "Jehu…. Jehu! Why the hell did you have to go and get yourself killed?" he yelled, cursing Jehu loudly. And sometime past midnight, he cried himself to sleep.

.:…:…:…:.

The next day when Haou woke up, he wasn't buried into his pillows with the blanket pulled up to his neck. He was lying on his back with the covers around his waist. He recalled, with some surprise, that it had been absolutely boiling the previous night. He could also feel something cool and damp on his forehead. Haou reached up, and his fingers brushed against a soaked strip of folded over cloth.

"Wha…." He muttered, sitting up while the cloth came away in his hand. "What happened….?"

"Oh, you're awake."

Haou's eyes shot open; that ever-cheerful voice was way too familiar for it to just be a new servant, perhaps appointed by his father. No, that was- "Jehu!" he yelled.

Jehu blinked. "You look angry."

"I am angry, you idiot! I thought you were dead!" Haou raged, pointing at Jehu accusingly. "Where the hell were you, anyway? You didn't come through on the register!"

Jehu grinned sheepishly. "Right….. About that. I only actually got in this morning….fell asleep at the camp…..got left behind. I only caught up around six-ish this morning. And Mr. Stuck-up-the-ass Freed said I should probably get to you. 'Cause you were worried." His grin morphed into a smirk. "You were worried?"

"No! And I told him that!"

"Sure, sure."

"I wasn't-"

"Thanks."

Haou blinked. "Huh?"

Jehu smiled. "Thanks. For worrying."

Haou flushed. "Umm…. You're welcome?"

.:…:…:…:.

Edo raised an eyebrow. "So you thought he was dead and totally freaked out. Somehow I can actually imagine that."

Judai grinned. "_Love_-**struck**! And here I thought you weren't capable of any emotion besides anger…." He let out a fake sigh.

Haou flushed angrily. _"I was not, and am not, lovestruck! He is a moron! An absolute moron! Why would I-"_

"You tell us." Edo cut in. "Anyway! What happened next! Now!"

Haou sighed. _"As you probably already guessed, being that Jehu and I were Gifted, we would be trained to the highest of our capabilities. Over the next year or so the two of us were trained to be capable of magic beyond our wildest dreams. It was amazing. Besides that, we trained in the art of the sword." _He smirked. _"Freed said I had a knack for it. He also said Jehu would be better fighting off like a thief than a knight." _

Edo winced. "Low blow."

Judai blinked. "What's wrong with that?"

Haou rolled his eyes. _"Back in our day, being compared to a thief was one of the greatest insults."_

"Oh."

"_Yeah. '__**Oh**__'. Anyway-"_

**.:…:…:…:.**

"_Anyway, a bit after the time we'd both turned fourteen, Haou's father finally realised that the neighbouring kingdoms were considering going to war against him." _Jehu continued, playing with the bedspread. _"__**That's **__when things went downhill."_

"How?" Johan asked curiously.

"_Well, before I tell you, allow me to be side-tracked a little." _Jehu grinned. _"Back to Yubel. Although Haou hadn't realised it at the time, Yubel was obviously in love him. That's part of the reason it went downhill, but only until many years later. All right. The king decided to send his best warriors-to-be to a training camp or sorts. Being a Gifted, I went with them. Being the King's son, Haou didn't."_

"What happened?"

Jehu grimaced. _"Oh, that camp was great for learning the way of the knight. Brilliant! Only problem was I was sent to the ends of a far-off kingdom for __**eight freaking years.**__" _

_**And the new chapter is up! Sorry if it's a little hazy, I didn't want to do too many flashbacks. The first half of the Yubel-Jehu-Haou's past arc is complete! *whistles* Anyway, please review!~**_

_**Thank you so so so so so so SO much to the people that sent me links! Seriously, you guys are the greatest. Thanks to everyone that reviewed as well, old and new reviewers. I seriously couldn't have gotten this far without you! *laughs***_

_**Seriously, my pal xxPEREGRINExx calls me her 'Famous Friend Oak-chan' (actually, she uses my real name but you the idea). I don't think I'm that famous, but… 93 REVIEWS! I'm so happy! I can't believe how close I am to scoring a hundred **_**T^T. **_**Please help me on the way to my goal! **_

_~Oak-chan_


	17. Chapter 15: The Truth, pt2

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan)_

_Judi to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_**Edo thinking, and/or Edo's psychic trances **_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

_**:/AN/: Please enjoy the second half of the Haou-Jehu-Yubel past arc! This one's mainly flashback and not dull exposition, so it should be better that the last one. And I don't own YGO Genex! **_

_**And to Legion of Smart Thinkers, AKA L.O.S.T.-chan, thanks for being my hundredth reviewer! …but my mom stole your idea and google searched me. She started reading this.**_** -_-**

_Chapter 15: The Truth, pt2_

"You're not serious."

"Unfortunately, I am."

"You're joking."

"Are you in the denial stage?"

Haou blinked as Jehu glanced up at him with big amber eyes. The brunette was sitting cross-legged on the bed while Jehu lay on his back, staring up at the prince. "Haou, I'm sorry. It's this stupid war."

Haou frowned. "The only thing _I'm _sorry about is that I'll get stuck with Freed again. At least you gave me an ounce of freedom. _He_'s under the impression that if he turns away for three seconds I'll be assassinated. Do you know how awkward that is?"

It was two years after Jehu's three month-long trip to war. Now, both Haou and Jehu were fourteen and the war had started again. Only this time it was a lot more serious.

Over the years, the two had been trained by Freed and Honest, the King's Court's best knight (Freed) and Gifted Magician (Honest). Apparently they both had a knack for magic and swordplay, although in very different ways. Haou was good at close combat, hitting the opponent with magic then defeating them while they were still stunned. Jehu just did whatever he felt like, randomly attacking in a vicious style with both magic and weapons. Unlike Haou, Jehu had no honour in battle, thus leading to Freed nicknaming him 'the thief'.

"…..very? I hate that guy."

"Just because he calls you a thief…."

"For no good reason besides my fighting style!"

"And the fact that you've robbed the kitchen more times than I could ever care to count."

"…."

"…when are you leaving, anyway?" Haou asked, then caught himself. "Not that I care. I just want to know how much longer I get to live without Freed breathing in my ear every waking second."

Jehu blinked. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning. At eight."

Haou raised an eyebrow. "That little notice? I would've thought at least a week…."

"You sound disappointed."

"Only about Freed." Truth be told, Haou had nothing against the old knight. He truly respected Freed, but for some reason he couldn't bear the thought of being worried about Jehu, even though he knew he was. So by telling Jehu that he could really care less he was trying to convince himself it was true.

"…right. Course you don't. I'm just a servant. Replaceable." Haou hated the way Jehu said that; no-one could replace Jehu. Jehu was the only one he knew besides Honest and Yubel that was Gifted. And it made him feel a lot better to know that he wasn't the only one struggling to control his budding magical abilities. He and Jehu always trained together. They ate together. When Haou was asleep in his giant double bed Jehu was always sitting right beside him on the plushy pillows, and would eventually fall asleep curled up to the brunette (Despite how much Haou complained about this, he honestly didn't mind. Jehu always gave him a sense of security).

In fact, now that he thought about it, he couldn't think of a time they'd been separated since they were introduced, besides the war. Time brings you closer together. Well, that was true at any rate. And Haou didn't want Jehu to leave. But he'd never admit it.

"That's right. You'd do good to remember it." Haou turned away and bit his lip when he saw the look of hurt on Jehu's face. "Go to sleep."

Jehu blinked. "But-"

"Sleep. Don't stay awake half the night like you always do. Just sleep. They're probably going to make you start working as soon as you get there, anyway." Jehu nodded, and leaned over to extinguish the candle on the nightstand.

"Night, Haou." Jehu mumbled, lying on top of the blankets at the opposite end of the bed. Haou burrowed down underneath them- he could never understand why Jehu didn't do the same.

Ten minutes passed, and although it was evident Jehu had long since fallen asleep Haou was still wide awake. He sat up on the bed, and glanced down at the limp, sleeping figure across the bed. Haou sighed and lay down right next to him, cuddling into the blunette.

"…..night, you idiot."

.:….:….:….:.

Jehu's eyes shot open. Sunlight was pouring into the room, illuminating the white stone walls and making them seem like they glowed. "Nnn…" he mumbled, moving to sit up. His eyes widened. There was a weight on his chest, and when he glanced down he saw Haou, cuddled into him. Jehu smiled softly, and ran his hand through Haou's silky brown hair. He took a lock in his fingers, admiring the golden tints that sparkled in the sunlight.

"I guess you were a little more worried than you let on." He murmured as Haou began to stir. Slowly golden eyes began to open.

"…..Jehu….?" Haou asked softly, blinking sleepily. Jehu smiled and nodded. Both of them sat up, and a tired, messy-haired Haou stared at a frisky, wide-awake Jehu.

"'Morning, Highness." Jehu gave a fake bow, which failed somewhat as he was sitting down.

"The hell did that come from?" Haou's eyes narrowed.

"That's what I'm going to have to call you from the moment I get back." Jehu smirked.

"Well stop it. It's creepy when you say it." Haou yawned, then blinked. When he got back? His shoulders sagged. Oh, that was right. Jehu was leaving, wasn't he? Jehu's smile disappeared when he saw the look of sadness flitting through Haou's eyes.

"Haou?" he said, while Haou clenched his fists and looked away. "Haou, are you alright?"

"….fine." His reply was a shaky one; it was obvious Haou was trying not to cry. "Go break a leg." Jehu placed a hand on Haou's shoulder while the brunette continued; "No, actually, do that. Maybe then…. You won't have to leave…." Then before he knew what was happening, Haou had spun around as was clinging to Jehu, sobs racking his figure. "I don't want you to leave, Jehu…." He mumbled while Jehu wrapped his arms around his charge.

"I don't want to leave either, Haou-chan…" Jehu muttered. "I'll be back soon, though…."

"That's not soon enough!" Haou yelled. "God knows how long you'll be in that fucking place, and even if you'll come back alive! You-" he was cut off as Jehu lifted his chin up to see him properly.

"Haou. I'll come back." The blunette whispered, then leaned forward and captured his lips. Haou's eyes widened, and they broke away. Jehu stared into Haou's eyes almost hypnotically, and muttered something under his breath. "Sorry, Haou-chan…."

Next thing he knew, everything was black. And when Haou woke up, Jehu was gone.

.:….:….:….:.

Haou suddenly found great interest in his hands and stared down, trying desperately to conceal his blush. _"And he went to the war camp, and I didn't see him again for eight years." _He muttered. _"He didn't keep in contact, because the camp would always keep moving to try and stay away from enemy troops. I don't know much about what happened there, but I can tell you about what happened during his absence."_

"Hold up; rewind." Judai held his hands up while Edo rolled his eyes.

"Jehu kissed you, hypnotised you, then left you. Wow, what a guy." He muttered. "I can _really_ see your infatuation."

"_Shut up!" _Haou hissed. _"Do you want to know what happened or should I just stop here?"_

"No! Keep going!" Judai whined.

"…_..a couple months later, my 'mother', who had been seriously sick, finally died of disease. My 'father' was killed in a patrol by enemy troops. So I rose to the throne, and became king." _Haou glanced around before finally deciding what to say next.

"_Yubel had to come to the palace, thanks to his and my father's promise, though we actually never got married. He did, however, become my advisor. Yubel was also gifted, but I guess you already know that. He was trained in a different kingdom by a man named Saiou, who at that point was an ally of our own country." _

Judai glanced at Edo. "Saiou?"

"Famous court magician. Known for being the one that served under your successor. It was a girl…. I think her name was Ran." Edo shrugged.

Haou rolled his eyes. _"Bitch. Anyway, I think you two can figure what happened in the space of time that Jehu was away."_

"Only the downfall of the majority of neighbouring kingdoms, violent massacres and full-on domination." Edo recited.

"And death and destruction." Judai continued. "Did you have an evil laugh?"

"_What? No." _

"…..shame….."

.:….:….:….:.

"What was war camp like?" Johan asked while Jehu scowled.

"_It. Sucked. A whole bunch of people there were gifted and nobles. The Nobles looked down on me. The peasants looked up to me. The instructors found the need to make me do sit-ups hanging upside down from a tree."_

"But they didn't teach you how to swim?"

"_Oh, they tried. And failed. Anyway, the main instructor there said- and here I quote- 'I'm going to beat some honour into you even if it kills me'. Nice. Anyway, he was determined to teach me to be the best I could be, as long as I remained noble and righteous. Said I had potential."_

"Didn't work, did it?"

"_Nope. Apparently he got a letter from Freed about me. So he just tried to teach me the way of the knight. He also passed me on a message from Yubel… apparently he trained the guy at one point."_

"That message was?"

"_Haou was pissed off at me, and he said that by the time I got back, he would be the best warrior in the kingdom." _Jehu let out a hollow laugh. _"But like I said, that place sucked. So I would keep sneaking out of the place. Eventually I got caught, but it was by a nearby thieving organisation. They were called the 'Dark Scorpions'. I still have their mark in my true form." _

"So you really were a thief. That justifies everything Freed said." Johan snickered.

"_I wasn't a thief at the time, though." _Jehu sighed. _"They taught me loads. They gave me a sense of honour. Albeit a rather twisted sense of honour. More like a thieves' code."_

"Which was?"

"_Aim to kill. Don't hold back. Distraction's okay; and hitting injuries is free game. Don't play fair, and never show mercy. 'Cause if ya do they might just turn around and stab you in the back. Literally." _Jehu recited while Johan cringed. _"Needless to say, I was the shame of the camp. They did teach me some useful stuff, though. Basic medical procedures. Cooking."_

"Cooking, you say?" Johan smirked, trying to imagine Jehu in a frilly pink apron.

"_Yah. I was at that damn place for eight years. Anyway, by the time I got back…..well, we stopped overnight in the nearby town…..and heard some rather interesting rumours."_

.:….:….:….:.

A twenty-two year old Jehu ducked under a punch aimed at the guy behind him, groaning. Everyone in the damned pub was drunk out of their minds, and even though Jehu soon planned to join them he didn't want to wake up lying in the mud a ways away with no idea where the rest of the troop was. Don laughed, snatching a pitcher full of beer off a table and started chugging. Meanae disappeared, but Jehu saw her just a few minutes later with some rather questionable company.

He had no idea where the others were, though. He'd just come with Don and Meanae, and he wasn't too keen on the other Scorpions. "Jehu!" An arm was slung around his shoulders while a tipsy Don hung off him. "Drink some!" He shoved a glass of the beverage into Jehu's hand. He nodded and started drinking.

"So you're heading back to the town tomorrow? Shame." Don sighed and shook his head. "We'll miss ya, thief." Don had picked up the habit of calling Jehu 'thief' as well. Actually, just about everyone had.

"Yup!" Jehu took a swig of the drink. It was actually a highly alcoholic beverage called 'Papualla Juice', and just about everyone loved the stuff. "I'll miss ya, Donny."

Meanae suddenly reappeared at the boy's side. "Smashed already?"

Jehu snorted. "You wish." He and Don burst out laughing.

"It'd take more than that to take us!"

Meanae grinned, playing with her long chestnut brown hair. "You hear about Haou?"

Jehu blinked, snapping back to attention. "Haou?"

Meanae nodded. "Yup. You wouldn't know, but he's the new king. Everyone says he's a tyrant. He's on a real rampage, y'know? Apparently he just took out Lestava. Padji's next. And Kaldea's counting down the days until it gets taken, too. It's like a game of chess." She frowned. "That guy's ruthless."

Don frowned. "Where'd ya hear that?"

Meanae gestured roughly behind her to a pair of unconscious men. "Pigs." Don laughed. It wasn't hard to tell what had happened. Jehu's mind, however, was caught on rerun.

"Haou….. Haou, as in, Haou Karakuri? Brown hair? Gold eyes? Wears black?" Jehu asked.

Meanae shrugged. "Here's what I know; His name's Haou. He's king. He's a bastard." She laughed, and Don soon joined in.

Jehu frowned. "He wouldn't."

"What?"

"I said, he wouldn't. I lived in the palace. When we were growing up, I was Haou's servant. He wouldn't." Jehu's eyes clouded over. Wouldn't he, really? Haou always had been ruthless in training. But he'd never actually _kill_ someone….would he?

His fellow Scorpions stared at him. "Really…." Meanae muttered. "Well, damn. "

.:….:….:….:.

"_It was about then that I really started realising just what had happened while I was away." _Jehu explained. _"Haou's father died and he took the throne. He didn't want to end up making the same mistakes his father did, and created a ruthless reign that showed no mercy to anyone or anything." _Amber eyes clouded over. _"I couldn't believe it._

"_When I got back to the palace….Haou had changed. He was different. He treated everyone like they were dirt. The only people he respected as equals were Yubel, Honest, and me. Freed had died at war about three years earlier. _

"_Around the servants, he was cold and cruel. Around us, he was like how he'd been when we were kids. I wasn't his personal servant anymore. Haou didn't have one. He and Yubel weren't married; but like I said, Yubel was obviously in love with him but Haou never realised it. Yubel was like his advisor or something….. He'd always been pretty cunning and manipulative." _Jehu laughed hollowly. _"I never liked the guy. He never liked me. We didn't get on so well, if you get my meaning. You know that scar I have on my side? That was Yubel. Vicious little bastard…."_

"Hang on. You went back to the castle, but what happened to the Scorpions?" Johan asked. Jehu shrugged.

"_Dunno. Never saw 'em again after that night." _

"Then what happened?"

.:….:….:….:.

"Then what happened?"

Haou's eyes narrowed. _"We – Yubel and I- had decided to create a peace treaty with Kaldea. That was the kingdom Yubel grew up in, and we'd have preferred to have them completely on our side rather than destroying them, because bottom line; they were powerful. They had Saiou as their temporary leader until a substitute was found. And to set out the peace treaty, I sent Jehu with a message to the kingdom. It should have been safe. Jehu could take care of himself. But I never should have let it happened. Because it's then that everything went downhill." _

.:….:….:….:.

"_Saiou was weird, to say the least." _Jehu frowned. _"Weird, but manipulative. Considering that he was the one that trained Yubel to use his gift, it's easy to see where that bastard got his personality traits from."_

"So what happened?" Johan asked; for some reason he got the feeling that what he heard next wouldn't be pretty and that he wouldn't forget it, but at the same time he couldn't stop himself from listening.

Jehu's eyes hardened, mouth set in a grim line. _"Here's what happened."_

.:….:….:….:.

Jehu, now twenty-four years of age, leant against the marble wall of the room he had been stranded in. The room was extravagant, what with the marble, the furniture made out of silver with gold leafing on everything, the plushy white cushions on the seats and the huge table with gourmet snacks laid out on platters that were just like everything else in the room; all either made of silver, gold, or white gold. In fact, there was no trace of any other colour in the room. Jehu, with his dark black and navy clothes stood out like a clown at a funeral.

Then there was the man himself. Saiou, with his flowing white robes with golden trimmings, perfectly pale skin and general beauty –not handsomeness, _beauty_- only made Jehu feel all the scruffier.

Good. Rebellion was always a good thing.

"I hear that you refused to pass the message onto one of my men." Saiou said with a musical vibe in his voice. It just made it sound like he was _mocking_ Jehu.

"Yeah, well, messages tend to get distorted." The blunette shrugged, staring off into space nonchalantly. He barely knew the man, but he already hated Saiou. "_Terribly _sorry." He taunted, words dripping with sarcasm and verbal bite. He meant to let Saiou know he wasn't intimidated by the sheer purity and perfection of the castle.

Saiou smirked. "Oh, no. That's fine. Actually, I was hoping to talk to you."

"Wow. Why?" Well, _that _certainly piqued Jehu's interest. After the guards had deposited him in this grand living space he'd been forced to wait for an hour before Saiou -_sama_ finally graced him with his presence. Even then he'd been treated like dirt.

"A favour, actually." Saiou stepped towards Jehu, looming over him with a commanding presence. It was then Jehu realised he'd been backed against the wall. Even if Saiou hadn't intended it, he was completely riled up and ready to slit the man's throat with any false moves. "Do you mind?"

"Knock yourself out." Jehu muttered, then mentally added; _((Literally, you bastard.)). _

Saiou's smirk turned malicious as he locked eyes with Jehu. "Good. So here's what you're going to do." Jehu's eyes widened as he felt a strange tugging sensation at the back of his mind, and suddenly the painting he'd been staring at as opposed to looking at Saiou seemed worthless, and he couldn't take his eyes off the man. Everything was getting fuzzy and distorted….he couldn't even concentrate now….

Then he blacked out.

.:….:….:….:.

Johan's eyes widened. "What happened?"

Jehu stared at the ground, shame and guilt being the only emotions that filled his eyes. _"I don't know. When I came to, I was back in the palace in Haou's kingdom. There was shouting, and dead bodies everywhere. Yubel was against a wall with daggers stabbed through him. Haou was in front of me, bleeding everywhere with my sword against his throat." _Before he could control himself, Jehu started crying.

"_I killed him, Johan." _

**O.o So….. did anyone see that coming? **

**Please don't kill me….. And please bear in mind they're all already dead. If they weren't, this thing wouldn't have a plot. So yeah.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers; seriously, this fic would have died at chapter zero without you guys. You're awesome! **

**As to everyone who's bothering to read this note, please drop a review on your way out! *waves***

_~Oak-chan_


	18. OMAKE: The Past

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan)_

_Judi to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_**Edo thinking, and/or Edo's psychic trances **_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

_**:/AN/: Wow, I got five reviews like an hour after I published the last chappie. People are adding this to their fave stories; and me to their fave authors like wildfire. I feel so loved. THANK YOU MINNA! **_

_**I got many of the same reviews for last chappies: OMG poor Jehu and Haou! Damn you Saiou! That's so horrible!**_

_**I know it is. Isn't it great? *laughs* I think I mentioned this before, but in case I didn't; I'm a sadist. I wrote this for the sake of… torturing my three favourite characters. *grins* This is their deaths. Read if you wanna…. It doesn't really matter either way. **_

_**But I do feel guilty about one thing. And that's the fact that I was listening to "I'm your Funny Bear"- You know; the gummy bear song- Motteke! Sailor Fuku and Caramelldansen while writing this. Lol. **_**^3^**

_OMAKE: The Past_

Yubel glanced up from the map of the nearby kingdoms when the door slammed shut. He spun around, ready to strike, but relaxed when he saw it was Jehu. "You idiot," he hissed. "Don't do that!

He didn't get a reply, but thought nothing of it. "I'm guessing the negotiations went well. Otherwise you'd be dead." Yubel continued. Jehu shrugged, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a sheaf of parchment.

"This is yours." He said simply. Yubel walked forward and took the sheet off him.

"Oh. Okay." He scanned the page. "Jehu, this is blank."

"So's the negotiation."

"What?" Yubel glanced at him, then his eyes widened. "Jehu? Is that blood?"

Jehu grinned wolfishly, then suddenly stabbed forward, dagger suddenly appearing in hand, and ripped into Yubel's stomach. He drove the dagger in so that the blade hit the wall, pinning Yubel against the stone. "Yeah. But it's not mine."

Yubel's eyes bugged; the pain was so intense and came so quickly that at first he couldn't feel it, and he couldn't figure out what had happened, but his confusion didn't last long. "Jehu," he choked, blood spilling out onto the floor. "What are you doing…?"

Jehu smirked. "Choosing the winning side. This kingdom will have fallen by sundown."

Yubel's eyes widened. "Traitor!"

The blunette shrugged, pulling a second blade off his belt where several more, as well as his two jagged katana, were hanging. "I guess." He turned to face the raven, blade glinting in the light. "But forget it. Now don't move so I can carve up that pretty face of yours." He placed the blade against Yubel's cheek, slowly digging the edge into his flesh, letting a small stream of blood trickle out. "You're first. Then Haou."

"JEHU! YOU TRAITOROUS BASTARD!" Yubel screamed; all traces of sanity were lost from his voice, expression, and even eyes as he tried to push Jehu away. "GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"

Jehu smiled softly, using his left hand to hold Yubel still while dragging the knife along his cheek. "Stay still. Or I won't get a clean cut." He murmured.

"BASTARD! YOU'LL GO TO HELL! I'LL DRAG YOU DOWN THERE WITH ME IF I HAVE TO!"

Suddenly, the door crashed open and Haou rushed into the room. "Yubel? Je-" Golden eyes widened. "What-!"

Jehu growled, pulled the blade away from Yubel's face and slammed it into the raven's chest. Yubel's eyes widened as he coughed blood, then fell limp against the wall.

"YUBEL!" Haou yelled, staring at his friend's dead body. "Yubel! Jehu, you bastard, what the hell did you do!"

Jehu smirked, replacing the knife on his belt and taking a katana in his hand instead. "What does it look like? Uprising, duh!" He shot forward, and before Haou realised what was happening Jehu had sliced him across the calf and blood was gushing onto the floor.

"Guhh!" Haou fell on one knee, eyes wide. He stared up at the blunette, shock written all over his face as Jehu placed his blade at Haou's throat.

"Haou…. You didn't even fight. If I were anyone else I'd be dead by now." Jehu shook his head in mock frustration. "Wearing emotions into battle isn't how you win. You should definitely know that by now."

Haou remained silent. Despite the fact that Jehu was treating him as if he were a student, he didn't get riled up. "….are you going to kill me?" he asked stiffly, eyes as hard as stone. From the moment Jehu killed Yubel, he'd stopped seeing the blunette for who he used to be.

Jehu's grin bordered on manic. "Hell yeah!" He slashed into Haou's neck, not severing it but creating a huge red line in his throat from which blood readily gushed. Haou sagged forward, blood dripping onto the floor. He was dead.

Jehu stared at his corpse, then glanced over at Yubel. Then he started laughing. Even when the rest Saiou, followed by knights from his kingdom, walked into the room to see if Jehu had completed his task he was laughing. Saiou smirked.

"Shall we bring Mr. Ralleigh back to reality?" he murmured, snapping his fingers. Immediately the spell was broken. Jehu stopped laughing, eyes regaining their usual glow.

At first he didn't realise what had happened. Then as he stared around the room, he saw Yubel, pinned against the wall with two daggers stabbed into him with his clothes soaked in blood. Then he saw Haou, lying in a pool of the crimson liquid with his throat slit. Jehu's eyes widened, and he fell to the floor with a strangled cry. "Oh my god…." He muttered. "I….."

"Killed them for me, yes." Saiou said crisply, immediately catching Jehu's attention. His smirk was soon wiped off his face by the expression of pure rage decorating Jehu's face. The blunette lunged at him, and with a second snap of his fingers the knights were on him, holding him still.

"YOU BASTARD!" Jehu roared, desperately struggling to reach Saiou. "YOU SON OF A FUCKING BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

"Jehu. Can you honestly tell me Haou didn't deserve what he got?" That stopped Jehu's struggling, but just for a second. It wasn't any use. Each knight was gifted, and they were using their powers to restrain and absorb Jehu's own. He was weakened, and in his already enraged state Jehu was no real threat.

"I have a proposition for you." Saiou continued, ignoring Jehu. "Work for me under our new monarchy. It will soon be ruled by Ran-hime. Everyone you considered an ally is dead. You're the only one left. What do you say?"

Jehu's eyes burned with hatred. "Go to hell," he growled. Saiou sighed.

"Well, that _is _a shame. Kill him." He turned away while the knights stabbed a sword through his throat, then dropped him to the floor. He then bowed regally as a new figure entered the room. "Ran-sama."

Ran – for that's who it was- already had a commanding presence. She wore a blood-red velvet gown decorated with gold lace that reached her toes, and as she swept into the room she eyed the corpses with a look of distaste. "Couldn't you get rid of those?" She complained. Saiou nodded.

"As you wish." As the guards dragged the cadavers out of the room, Ran walked onto the balcony and stared out onto the kingdom. _Her _kingdom. "And this is mine?" She mused, more to herself than anyone else.

Saiou nodded again. "Yes, milady."

A cruel smile curved onto her lips. "Excellent."

**Tah-dah! Love it? Hate it? Rate it! No, wait. Please review! And to those who said "Update Soon"….. this isn't quite what you had in mind, was it? *laughs* **

**We'll be seeing more of Saiou, I think….. no idea about Ran, though. Anyone wanna see me kill her? *looks up hopefully***

**Anyway, please review. (I think I already said that…) …..did I mention I love you guys?**

**(Berry Doyle, thank you for the cookies!)**

_~Oak-chan _


	19. Chapter 16: Heart Attack

_**I do not own YGO GX as much as I would like to. Naoyuki Kageyama and co. does. So yeah. **_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan)_

_Judi to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_[Ryo to Fubuki]_

_[[Fubuki to Ryo]]_

_**Edo thinking, and/or Edo's psychic trances **_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

_Chapter 16: Heart Attack_

It was official.

The school was gone. Simple as that. The fire had spread and burnt down the entire building. No matter how hard anyone tried, the fire-fighters couldn't extinguish the flames. They had to wait for it to go out on its own. Now, where the school used to be there was a giant patch of charred earth.

Needless to say, that should have meant there was no school. But every student still had to make the trip out to school to count numbers and inform them of what was going to happen.

Judai, Edo, Rei and Ryo arrived at what used to be their high school in low spirits. Mainly because they had been there while the school was demolished, and they couldn't help but feel they could have stopped it.

Ayukawa was taking the roll, and as Ryo walked off to join his own class she once again gushed her relief at Judai. "You could have been killed….you were so lucky!"

Judai grinned sheepishly. "Yeah….I guess so."

"What happened in there, anyway?" she asked worriedly while Judai shrugged.

"I don't remember. All I do is that I blacked out….. I must have a guardian angel or something." Judai joked. Haou was asleep, so he didn't get any critical comments.

"Oh! There you are!" Judai looked over to see who Ayukawa was calling to, then looked away. There was Johan, grinning like nothing was wrong. Judai tugged on his red jacket to try and distract himself. No-one here was wearing uniform, so Judai had dressed himself in a black shirt, red jacket and jeans. His all-time favourite outfit. But now he felt slightly self-conscious, thanks to the fact that everyone else was wearing dark colours.

"Judai?" Judai glanced up and immediately found himself staring into emerald orbs.

"Umm…." Blink. Blink. Blink. Realisation. Blush. "J-Johan! What the hell!"

Johan frowned. "We need to talk."

"About what?" Judai fired up instantly, glaring at the blunette. He still hadn't forgotten the first day, when Johan had asked him out then ran away.

"Jehu and Haou."

"Yeah well- what?" Chocolate eyes blinked in confusion. "Jehu and Haou?"

"Haou thinks Jehu betrayed the entire kingdom by allying himself with Saiou, but that's not what happened." Johan explained hurriedly. "Jehu never got to tell him or Yubel what really went down when he went to Kaldea. It was Saiou, he-"

"Wait, rewind. Jehu _didn't _betray Haou?" Judai frowned.

"Yeah. Saiou was gifted, he brainwashed Jehu and made him lead them into the citadel and kill Haou and Yubel and God knows how many others." Johan said in a rush, then paused to let Judai absorb this new information.

"…..and Haou wouldn't know, he would think Jehu just….." he said slowly.

"Betrayed him." Johan filled in.

Judai's eyes widened. "Oh god, I gotta tell Haou! And Yubel, and the others, they all want Jehu's head on a pointy stick!"

Johan glanced around. "Speaking of, where _is_ Yubel? I heard he was Marcel's spirit, but…."

"…Marcel….isn't here?"

.:….:….:….:.

Sho glanced around the class. There was Johan….and Judai. Judai. What had happened to him? He was normal one day, then the next he was avoiding Sho and all his other old friends. Then he'd started hanging out with Rei more – okay, they were always friends but even more than usual!-, and even his older brother! Not to mention the second new kid, Edo –but then again, they _were _cousins-, and now Johan?

It almost made Sho wonder if he'd done anything to upset the brunette. Then he threw the thought out of his head; Judai was _not_ easy to annoy and even if he was, what could _Sho _of all people do to make him angry? It didn't make sense.

He snapped back to attention when Ayukawa said they could leave, then walked over to join his older brother. "Nii-san?" He called. "Let's go home."

Ryo nodded, then they started walking. Then it struck Sho that even Ryo was acting strangely. Sure, they'd never been on great terms before, but Ryo had never downright _ignored _Sho, and now when the younger blunette tried to strike up conversation he didn't even get an acknowledging nod. Ryo just stared ahead, totally lost to the world.

"Nii-san?" Sho called tentatively, and when he didn't reply he called a little louder. "Nii-san!"

Ryo, of course, was talking to Fubuki, but Sho didn't know that.

_[[Yeah, but I could have won if I __**wanted **__to. I just didn't want to.]]_

_[Fubuki, will you just __**accept **__the fact that you'll never beat me in chess so we can stop having this discussion every other day?]_

_[[I'll never win because I'm too nice. I keep letting you beat me.]]_

_[Bull __**crap**__.]_

_[[Yeah, well- your brother's yelling at'cha.] _

_[Huh?] _Ryo blinked and glanced down. Sure enough, Sho had been trying to catch his attention. "Sorry, what?"

Sho frowned. "I was _asking_ what was up. You're really distant these days!"

"How so?"

"Well…. It's like…." Sho paused, trying to phrase his words. "It's like you're there but not in mind!"

"Huh?"

_[[He means that you keep talking to me, and you don't hear anyone else.]] _Fubuki nodded, happy with his analysis.

_[…is that so? Maybe I should just stop talking to you then…]_

_[[Wha? No!]]_

"See?" Sho said pointedly, snapping Ryo out of his thoughts. "You're doing it again!"

"Sorry. It's like…." Ryo glanced off into the distance. "….it's like I have a voice in my head, that _**won't shut up.**_"

_[[Well, sor-ry!]]_

"You're hearing things?"

"No."

"But you just said-"

"I'm not imagining it, Sho." Ryo said simply, cutting off his brother. "I'm not insane, if that's what you're suggesting. I'm a lot of things, but insane isn't one of them."

_[[Are you so sure? Maybe there's no such thing as the competition. Maybe Haou and Jehu and Yubel and Asuka don't really exist. Maybe __**I **__don't really exist. Maybe it's all your mind playing tricks on you….]]_

_[No it's not.]_

_[[Yeah, I know, but __**what if?**__]]_

Sho stared at the ground, flushing slightly. "Sorry, nii-san…"

"Yeah, you-" Ryo's eyes bulged as a familiar sensation passed through his body. Like someone was squeezing his heart, hard. He fell to his knees; he couldn't breathe and the pain was excruciating. "Ugh…."

"Nii-san!" Sho cried, kneeling beside Ryo, trying to hold him steady. "Nii-san!"

Ryo's eyes were huge, like he was in shock and couldn't really comprehend what was happening. "Call them," he whispered. "Now."

Them being the emergency service. Sho whipped out his mobile and began dialling.

"_**Hello, this is emergency; how can we help y-"**_

"My brother's having a relapse!" Sho yelled into the phone. "It's like he's having his heart attack all over again!"

"_**Where are you?"**_ The woman on the other end's voice turned serious. Sho began giving her details while, unbeknownst to him, Fubuki was with Ryo and was trying to stabilise his breathing. Only he had no clue where to start.

"_Ryo!" _

Sho knelt beside Ryo. "Nii-san, lie down!" he urged, moving his brother onto his back. "And do-"

Ryo smiled weakly. "Don't panic; panic constricts the blood vessels and makes it more difficult for the body to handle the attack. I know, Sho." He choked again. "Can't….breathe…."

Sho stared at his brother. Forget Ryo panicking, Sho was the one freaking out "CPR…CPR…." he muttered. "Damnit, I don't know CPR! And I can't do AED…." He glanced around frantically, but the streets were empty. "Oh god…. Nii-san!"

Fubuki watched Ryo struggling to breathe, slowly filling with despair. Ryo had a heart condition? Why didn't he ever tell him? What if something like this happened, and Fubuki couldn't help him? He snapped into attention, hearing Sho curse himself for never being able to learn CPR.

"_CPR…." _His eyes widened. _"I know CPR!" _ Fubuki tilted Ryo's head upwards and took a deep breath. _"Hell, I don't even know if this'll work…" _He shook his head. _"No! For Ryo's sake!" _

When Sho turned around, he saw Ryo lying on his back, and, somehow, his breathing was returning to normal. Slowly, but surely. Sho's eyes widened. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he was thankful. Whatever it was, it was saving his brother and might just be buying enough time for the ambulance to arrive.

The whining of sirens filled the streets, and Sho spun around in joy while two white-clothed people he could only hope were doctors rushed out of the van. "Here!" He stood up and waved them over. "Over here!"

.:…..:…:…..:.

Well, let's put it this way; it was awkward.

It was more than just awkward; it was the most awkward moment in all of their lives. Edo, Judai and Haou sat on one side of the couch, and Jehu and Johan sat on the other. Haou's icy glare – mainly directed at Jehu but occasionally Johan was a victim- filled the air with a sense of tension, and the fact that Edo himself was glaring at Jehu as well wasn't helping. Judai and Johan exchanged frantic glances; this was not going to plan _at all_.

"_Are you trying to tell me," _Haou said eventually, _"That Saiou somehow managed to miraculously brainwash you and forced you to betray us." _ Jehu opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off. _"And the miraculous part is, Saiou was never recorded as a mind manipulator. He was a psychic, and could see into the future. Not unlike Edo. But despite that, he was never a mind manipulator." _

"_Well he lied!" _Jehu exploded. _"Because that's what happened!" _ Johan nodded, and Judai smiled weakly. Edo shrugged faintly.

Haou stared around the room in amazement. _"You believe him? You actually __**believe**__ him? He's a thief and a traitor! Didn't it ever occur to you that he had over five hundred years to fabricate a plausible excuse? And even so, __**that's**__ the best you could come with!" _

"Haou, calm down!" Judai tugged on his spirit's arm, and Haou immediately knocked him away.

"_No! It's just that this is so fucking ridiculous! Jehu, you are so lucky I'm in spirit form right now!" _Haou yelled.

"_Yeah? Well, fine! Don't believe me! It's not like it even matters!" _Jehu stood up, instantly riled up. _"I waited five hundred fucking years to tell you what happened, and you don't even give me a chance? Suddenly I'm starting to see why so many people hated you when we were alive! You never listen!" _

Yup. Not going well at _all_.

.:…..:…:…..:.

"I don't know how you managed to do it," The nurse that had previously introduced herself as Junko smiled down at Sho. "But you saved your brother's life. Nice CPR."

Sho flushed. "It wasn't me."

"Then you should definitely thank whoever it was."

"…there wasn't anyone there."

"What?"

"There was no-one there, but _someone_ was giving Ryo CPR. I don't know who, but…." Sho glanced down in embarrassment. "You probably think I'm nuts, don't you?" Junko reached to the pendant at her throat, biting her lip.

"No…. I believe you."

Sho stared up at her. "R-really?"

"Yup. But I'm gonna have to ask you to wait in the sitting area…." And totally ignoring Sho's protests, she pushed the blunette into the hallway, then closed the door. She spun around, then called; "Marufuji-san's spirit, come out."

Fubuki appeared beside Ryo, not looking at Junko but staring down at the unconscious Ryo instead. _"…I can't fight you."_ He said dully, all traces of his usual cocky happy-go-lucky attitude gone. _"Because Ryo's sick. And I don't have a pendant."_

Junko shook her head. "No! I wouldn't ask you to!" she blushed slightly. "You were the one that gave Marufuji-san CPR, weren't you?"

Fubuki nodded.

"Don't look like that. He should be fine!" Junko said hastily, trying to cheer up the sullen spirit. "Anyway, this is my spirit. Momoe." She pointed behind her while another spirit appeared.

"_Ohh! Fubuki-san!" _Momoe gushed. _"I haven't seen you since-"_

"_Since the school burnt down. Nice to see you too, Momoe-chan." _ Fubuki smiled weakly.

Junko glanced at them, eyes flicking between the two spirits. "You know each other?"

"_We went to school together!" _Momoe explained. _"Fubuki-san was like the most popular guy at school!" _ She paused. _"Wait, you don't have a pendant? You surrendered?"_

Fubuki's eye twitched. _"Get real. I lost."_

"_You lost? Wait, you're an illegal spirit?" _Momoe's voice bordered on hysterical.

"_Yes, I lost. No, I'm not. I'm contracted to Haou." _Fubuki corrected her with a bored tone.

"Contracted?" That was Junko.

"_It means that a spirit in the competition can give their pendants to who they're contracted to, and win pendants on their behalf. Any spirit outside the competition is free to stay, but only for as long as their contractor is still in the game." _ Momoe explained. _"Who's Haou?"_

"_A friend of mine." _Fubuki paused. Was Haou really a friend? Well, he definitely respected the guy, but as for friendship…. _"Actually, I dunno if I could call him a friend, exactly…. I respect him, and he saved me from being destroyed…..he's the spirit of my friend….. I guess….." _

Junko and Momoe exchanged bewildered glances. "Uwah?"

Fubuki shook his head. _"Never mind! I couldn't ask you guys to understand!" _ He stared at Junko with pleading eyes. _"Just tell me. Tell me everything on Ryo's medical record. He never told me anything about a heart condition or anything, but from the way Sho reacted it must have happened before!" _

Junko nodded, then walked over to the computer on the desk. After typing a few keywords, she called up Ryo's file. "Ummm…. Let's see." She started, scanning the page. "Marufuji Ryo-san, age 17, born with _arrhythmia, _which is a disease that causes irregular heart beating rhythm. He's had a few problems in the past with his heart just suddenly kicking out; he's gone into cardiac arrest twice but both times he was revived using AED. He's also prone to sudden heart attacks." She glanced back at Fubuki. "Marufuji-san is one lucky guy."

Fubuki nodded, eyes wide. _"I never knew…."_

Momoe glanced down at the unconscious blunette. _"Fubuki-san, you care a lot for Marufuji-san, right?" _ Fubuki knelt down and laid his head on the mattress, staring at Ryo.

"_Yeah….." _the brunette smiled softly. _"Ryo-chan means the world to me."_

**There you go! XD**

**So Ryo has a heart condition (lucky him). I actually did a little research on cardiac arrest and stuff so if anyone reading this actually knew about it, they wouldn't look at the stuff I wrote and go "WTF?" (If you do know about this sort of thing, and I got something wrong, please tell me so I can change it -_-) ANYWAY! Is that going to prove a problem later? And is everything going to get smoothed out between Jehu and Haou? And where the hell is Yubel? **

**Soooo…. I'm thinking about bringing back Saiou, but I dunno if I should bring back Ran. Anyone want to see her again, even if it's only to have her brutally mutilated by Yubel or someone to that effect? **

**I'm in HPE class right now; question, what does flora and fauna have to do with Health and Physical Education? And why are we either a) clearing out a woodland area or b) doing fishing for our assignment? . Besides that, we're torturing ourselves in class. Forget HPE: this is masochism 101! **

**Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. Please drop a review on your way out! Ciao!**

_~Oak-chan _


	20. Chapter 17: Blood Moon

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan))_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

_**:/AN/: Just so ya know, Spirits operates within its own time frame, thus why it's currently October in this world, and August in ours. Plus, this is set in Japan, so that's why winter's coming, even though here in Aus we're already in the middle of it. And damn, it's flu season! :( **_

_**And besides that….. scanning through my reviews and such… you people are all determined to make Yubel be the bad guy, aren't you? What have you got against Yubel-chan? Actually, I can see what's wrong. Yubel is generally the most common hurdle separating Jehu and Haou, so it's sort of a reflex to hate him/her/it whatever. Ahh, well….*sighs* **_

_Chapter 17: Blood Moon_

October's _**Blood Moon**_ brings with it cool, clear nights and the knowledge that winter is around the corner. It brings a sense of boding evil as it hovers in the black velvet sky, bathing the country with a surreal red light. This is the time of year when the veil between our world and the spirit world is at its weakest.

And this is the time when the second wave of spirits left their realm to find their hosts.

It was a dark night, without many stars. Edo Phoenix stared up into the sky from his balcony, pale face illuminated by the red glow emanated from the moon. His eyes narrowed as the moon disappeared behind a thin, silvery cloud, though the light still shone through.

He shook his head and went back inside, completely unaware of the fact that he was being watched. Yawning, he made his way over to his bed and roughly collapsed on it, rolling over onto his back so he could stare at the ceiling. "That's weird…" he muttered. "I'm so sleepy all of a sudden…."

After that, all he saw was black as he drifted into unconsciousness.

.:….:….:….:.

It was roughly three a.m. when Johan was dragged out of his sleep. Yawning, he glanced around the room, searching for the cause of whatever it was that woke him up.

Jehu was sitting on the windowsill, staring up into the night sky. _"Hi, Jo-chan. Go back to sleep. It's way too early." _

Johan frowned. "Why are you still awake?" Jehu turned to face him with an expression that clearly read; 'who the hell do you think I am?'

Johan flushed. "Sorry." He muttered as Jehu turned back to the sky. Johan slid out of bed and stood beside his spirit, following his line of vision to the huge, blood red moon in the sky. "What is that…?" Johan asked softly; by then it had sunk in that he might wake his mother if he wasn't quiet.

Jehu didn't turn to face him this time. _"The Blood Moon."_

"Blood Moon?"

"_It's when the barrier between our worlds is weakest. It's also when they send through the second lot of spirits to fight." _Jehu explained tonelessly, seemingly unable to tear his eyes away from the huge crimson sphere.

"_Second _lot of spirits?" Johan yelled, totally forgetting his 'parents might hear you' logic. "Why a second?"

"_Because the spirit elders want some entertainment." _Jehu grinned, though he didn't let Johan see it. _"And these spirits have been floating around in limbo watching us fight for so long that they've started absorbing the powers of the destroyed spirits. They're more powerful than most of us." _

"What?" Johan visibly paled. "That can't be fair!"

Jehu glanced back at Johan. _"Scared, Jo-chan? Don't worry, I'll protect you…." _Johan didn't notice, because he was looking away, but the expression on Jehu's face was completely serious.

Johan huffed angrily, folding his arms while glaring at his spirit. "It's you that needs protecting! I'm not the one fighting!"

Jehu turned away again. _"That's true." _Amber eyes flashed as he suddenly pointed at the night sky. _"Look." _

Johan's line of vision shot to where Jehu was pointing; and there was a tiny beam of white light shooting across the sky. "…shooting star?" He asked softly.

Jehu shook his head. _"Nope, that's a spirit that's just found a host." _

"Wow, really?"

"_Yes, really."_

"Cool."

"_Not really. Think about it in this perspective; that's one more opponent."_

"I never thought I'd say this, but; you are being waaaay too negative." Johan muttered.

Jehu shrugged. _"Sure."_

"What's up with you?"

"_Nothing. Just…thinking."_

"About?"

"_Saiou." _He said simply, while Johan nodded. _"When I see him, I'm gonna-"_

"Tear him to pieces?" Johan suggested weakly. Jehu's wolfish grin returned, and with his already glowing orange eyes he seemed altogether feral.

"_No, I'm gonna rip his intestines out through his throat, __**then **__I'm gonna tear him to pieces! Then I'm gonna paint the floor red with his blood!" _Jehu declared, pumping a fist into the air. _"And I'm gonna do it with my bare hands!" _

Johan sweatdropped. "Riiight….."

.:….:….:….:.

_Edo glanced around him, taking in the sight of the pitch black space of nothingness he'd somehow found himself stranded in. His eyes moved to the ground – or at least, he thought it was the ground, for all he knew he could have been standing on the ceiling- and saw his silhouette, which would have been a shadow in the sunlight but here was completely white. Edo frowned. _

"_What is this place….?" He asked himself, suddenly noticing just how cold he was. "Where am I?"_

"_**You're in my world, human."**_

_Edo spun around, searching desperately for the source of the voice, though it seemed like it came from everywhere all at once. "Who are you?" He yelled. "__**Where**_ _are you?" _

"_**In front of you…." **__Edo turned back, and found himself face-to-face with a man he didn't recognise. The silverette's eyes widened; this man was – if he had to describe him in one word- beautiful. Beautiful yet malicious. His long, flowing deep blue hair had tints of white towards the top, and he calmly surveyed Edo with calm violet-blue eyes. He wore white robes tinted gold, which made his already pale skin seem almost completely white._

_Edo blinked. "Who are you?"_

_The man swept into a formal bow, though never once taking his eyes off Edo. __**"I am Takuma Saiou, but please, just Saiou."**_

_Edo's eyes widened. "Saiou….." Could this be, the same Saiou who…..?_

_Saiou stood upright again. "__**You may not be aware of this, but there is currently a competition between the spirits to-"**_

"_Find a new spirit ruler by fighting one another and winning pendants. The spirits ally themselves with living human hosts that they use as 'weapons' with which to fight." Edo interrupted, ignoring the look of shock on Saiou's face. "Yeah, I already __**know**__." _

_Saiou blinked, taking in Edo's sudden spout of knowledge. __**"Then I see I don't need to explain that to you."**__ A thin smile curved on his lips. __**"That saves a lot of time. If you know all that, then you must know why I'm here, human."**_

_Edo growled; he hated this guy already. "It's Edo, not human." He sneered, shooting Saiou the filthiest glare he could manage. "Edo Phoenix, and you're gonna address me as such."_

"_**My apologies…..'Edo'." **__Saiou used Edo's name gingerly, as if it was a great strain to say it. __**"But you do know why I'm here, don't y-"**_

"_You already said that!" Edo said through gritted teeth. "And, yeah, I do! You want me to be your weapon! Well, get this: it's not gonna happen!" He paused, thinking. He'd said that in the spur of the moment, but now that he actually thought about it, if he could lure Saiou down to Earth, then Haou, Jehu and Yubel could get their revenge and smooth things out between them….. _

_Saiou raised an eyebrow. __**"Well, that **__**is **__**disappointing. But who said you actually had a choice in the matter?"**_

_Edo frowned. "Say what?"_

"_**In this competition, a spirit can't fight as a spirit. They need hosts!" **__Saiou grinned fiendishly, lifting his hand to point at Edo. __**"And you're my weapon!"**_

.:….:….:….:.

On the other side of the city, Jehu frowned, watching another star fall across the sky. _((That's another one.)) _He sighed, watching as it streaked across the heavens, leaving a huge trail of white light in its wake. _((That one seems malicious.))_

He glanced back at Johan, who had once again fallen asleep and was now lying on the mattress. Jehu smiled softly, and walked over to Johan's side. He took the blanket in his hands and pulled it up over Johan's body, shielding him from the cold air that was slowly filling the room. The blunette spirit knelt at the bedside, smiling as he watched his weapon in peace.

"_Sleep well, Johan..." _ He whispered, running his fingers through Johan's hair. _"Tomorrow, we're going hunting." _

**Dah-dah! Quickie update, but then again, it **_**is **_**a rather short chapter. So –oh my god – Saiou's in the game! Does he know about Edo's link to the three he had so brutally murdered? Does he have some hidden agenda? Should I stop doing these questions at the end of the chapters to save it from becoming more confusing?**

**Oh, and, for Ran? Yeah, I wanna kill her too. But I have a dilemma! She needs a weapon! Any suggestions, people? :D**

**My next topic on the agenda: Yusuke Fujiwara. Okay, seriously. Were they going out of their way to try and create an ugly character? What the hell did they do to his hair, people? **

**Everyone reading, please drop a review on your way out! Thanks!**

_~Oak-chan _


	21. Chapter 18: Play with Fire

_Judai to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

_**:/AN/: And finally! We're back in the competition! ;D So let's get the bloodshed started!**_

_Chapter 18: Play with Fire_

"I can't believe Haou didn't even listen to him!" Judai said angrily, letting off vibes that made Johan wince. "This is nuts! I know that idiot's stubborn but this is just-!"

"Jehu didn't help." Johan growled, folding his arms angrily. "Losing his temper like that…. it's a wonder he didn't explode."

It was the day after Haou and Jehu's disastrous meeting, and Judai and Johan had met up to complain about just what went wrong. Their spirits were asleep –Haou didn't do much else these days, and Jehu was just catching up on rest because he'd stayed up all the night before-, and they themselves were walking down the deserted streets to the mall, having met up at the train station.

"We need a new plan." Judai said thoughtfully. Johan glanced at him curiously.

"Like what?"

"Dunno….."

"That _is_ a problem."

Judai paused, stopping in the middle of the road. "I got it!"

Johan turned to face him. "You do?"

Judai's grin literally could _not_ get any bigger. "Fubuki!" Johan stared at him blankly.

"…Fubuki?"

"Ryo's spirit. He's like, the _master_ of love." Judai grinned, and eventually Johan caught on.

"So…..he can….."

"Get them to fall in love with each other again!"

.:...:…:…:.

Cobra laughed loudly as Austin returned to his side, holding three pendants in his hand while wearing a huge smirk on his face. _"Good work!"_

Austin's smirk widened. "Too easy. They weren't even a challenge."

Cobra paused in mock thoughtfulness. _"What does that make this? Fifteen, sixteen pendants now?"_

"Seventeen. Who's next?" Austin's dark brown eyes flitted across the streets. "This new pendant system is great. The more pendants you win, the more powers you get!" He grinned. "I love it!"

"_Let's hunt." _

The streets were deserted, and as they crossed the roads it became increasingly obvious that they were the only ones there. Cobra growled in annoyance, stopping in the middle of the road while Austin turned to see him. _"This is pointless. The place is deserted!" _He said angrily, kicking a rock towards a gutter.

Austin nodded. "Let's keep looking."

"-so Jehu killed them! Even now the weapon's in the hospital, when he fights he's out of control!"

Cobra and Austin span around to find the source of the voices. The former grinned. _"He said weapon."_

Austin jerked his head towards an alleyway, and the two ducked into it as Johan and Judai turned the corner and walked out onto the street.

"-Yeah? Haou's determined to destroy like _every _spirit he runs into! He would have destroyed Fubuki if I hadn't told him not to!"

"Whoa, seriously? Isn't Fubuki one of your friends?"

"That's the point!"

Austin frowned. "Fubuki….that name sounds familiar."

Cobra snorted. _"He was that pathetic ice spirit. The one that didn't have a pendant."_

"Ahhh."

Over with Johan and Judai….

"And another thing, with our first spirit battle, he just chopped this guy's head off!" Judai exploded. "What's worst is, he was _Cronos-sensei's _spirit!"

Johan winced. "A teacher? Ouch."

_-….Judai?-_

The brunette paused. "Hold up, Haou just woke up."

_Welcome back to the world of the conscious. _

_-…why is Anderson here?-_

_We're going to the mall._

_-…..What? - _Haou's voice was low and accusing. _–Judai, he's- -_

_Jehu's weapon. I don't care if you hate Jehu, Johan's my friend! _

_-Judai, you're an idiot to trust him!-_

_And some would say I'm an idiot to trust __**you**__! _

As they continued to argue, Judai let out an involuntary growl. Johan raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Judai?"

"It's nothing. Let's keep going." Judai muttered, ignoring his spirit.

"Actually, you're stopping." Johan let out a small yelp as he was grabbed by the shoulder and wrenched around to face Austin. Judai spun to see the new threat, and found himself staring at the man-mountain that was Cobra.

"You again!" Judai gasped; those were the guys from the hot springs! "What do you want?"

Johan shrugged Austin off him, then stepped back so he was in line with Judai. "You know these guys?" He growled, never breaking eye-contact with Austin.

Judai nodded. "We had a little run-in at our hot spring excursion."

Cobra grinned. _"So how's blizzard boy doing? Still in one piece?"_

"Fubuki's _fine_!" Judai snarled. "And you never answered my question! _What do you want?"_

"_I think you know." _Cobra said, raising an eyebrow as Austin cracked his knuckles. _"Let's go. Now."_

Judai was momentarily stunned, then his lips twisted into a feral grin. "What, here?" He licked his lips in a disgustingly murderous manner as his eyes turned gold. "Sure."

"You too." Austin said roughly, glancing at Johan. He was completely undeterred by Judai's sudden shift in personality.

Johan's eyes flicked between Austin, Cobra, and his friend, who seemed to be caught somewhere in-between being Haou and Judai. "But Jehu's asleep…." He muttered.

"_No excuses!" _Cobra roared as a mystic light began to envelop the area.

When it had cleared, Haou was standing in Judai's place, while the boy was up near the wall. He grinned sadistically at Austin, who responded with narrowed eyes.

"I'll destroy you." Austin said simply. "I haven't forgotten what happened in the hot springs, y'know."

Haou raised an eyebrow as he began to circle the dark-skinned man. "I wouldn't have expected you to." The gold-tinged brunette drawled, his boot grinding into the dirt as he came to a halt directly behind Austin. "I mean, you were just _completely _overpowered, weren't you?" He smirked as Austin let off an angry growl.

"Shut up."

"That must have been humiliating." Haou continued, beginning to circle him again. "But why did you leave then? I mean, you'd been cheated of not _one_, but _two _victims. So why'd you leave? Why didn't you fight me?"

"I'm warning you…." Austin began, but was cut off by Haou, who seemed to be on a roll.

"Warning me? About what? How _boring_ this is going to be?" Haou crossed into Austin's line of view again. "I think I know why you left. You left because you were _scared _of me." His grin widened. "Didn't you?"

"You bastard." Austin growled, fist clenching and unclenching as he tried to stay calm. "You bastard, I'm going to-"

"_Oh my __**god**__! You total retard!" _The four of them –Haou, Judai, Cobra and Austin- turned to face the source of the yell. And saw a spirit Johan staring down at a solid Jehu, who was leaning against the building on the side of the street, eyes closed and head tilted towards the ground.

Judai cringed. _"Is he….?"_

Johan turned to face them, shaking his head. _"He's __**asleep**__!" _The blunette exclaimed incredulously. _"He's freaking __**asleep**__!" _Johan turned back to Jehu, and kicked him in the shin. _"You retard, wake up!" _

Suddenly, a chakram* shot out of nowhere, spinning towards Haou. The brunette side-stepped it, letting it whizz past Johan. It barely missed him and slammed into the wall, imbedding itself just above Jehu's head. Judai gaped, and Johan's eye twitched.

Haou spun back around to face Austin. "You must have worked up a lot of courage to throw that." He said nonchalantly. "And as courageous as that was, you're going to regret it." He stepped forward, and in a blinding flash of gold light, he vanished.

Austin glanced around, sweat dripping down his face. "Where'd he g-" His eyes widened and he leapt backwards just as Haou's sword imbedded itself on the ground that he had just been standing on. Austin stared in shock as Haou glanced up at him, pulling his blade out of the tarmac.

Austin bit his lip, then threw forward his hand, sending a stream of fire shooting towards Haou. Too late. Another flash of light and Haou was gone, reappearing beside Judai, who let out a small jump. _"Haou, don't __**do **__that!" _Judai complained as Austin's line of vision shot between where Haou was and where he used to be.

Haou smirked. "I don't see how you beat Fubuki; he was more of a challenge at this point than you."

"Don't compare me to that trash!" Austin yelled.

Haou shrugged, holding his sword up so it caught the light. "There isn't too much to compare," he muttered. "Ready?" In another burst of light he was gone again, but this time he didn't reappear. A minute passed, then a second, and still nothing.

Johan's eyes shot around the field. _"Ummm…. Did he bail?" _The blunette asked quizzically while Judai shrugged.

Cobra let out a roar of anger, slamming his boot onto the ground. _"That coward RAN!" _He yelled. Austin spun around to face Johan and Judai, who automatically flinched and took small sidesteps towards each other.

"_Uhhh…. Hi?" _Judai smiled weakly, giving a small wave. Austin smirked.

"He won't show, so we lure him out!" He yelled the last part, throwing his hand forward. The air instantly combusted and formed a small ball, and with a sweeping motion Austin sent it flying towards Johan and Judai.

"_U-Uwah!" _The two split apart, leaping in opposite directions. Judai landed ungracefully on the concrete, his back slamming against the wall with a sickening _crack_ing noise while Johan fell to his knees with a groan, clutching his upper arm. The fireball had missed….mostly. It had just hit, and now there was a huge patch of burnt skin on Johan's right arm, now visible because the attack had burned a hole in his sleeve.

"_Ah….oww…."_ Johan cringed, trying to stand, then fell back against the wall. _"That hurt…"_ He slid down onto the ground, staring over at Austin in disbelief. _"That….__**hurt**__."_

"_You cheater!" _Judai yelled. _"That's __**gotta **__be against the rules!"_

Austin ignored him, instead readying another fireball in front of him. "Haou!" He called. "Come out, or I'll hit your brat next!"

In the shadows on a rooftop overlooking the street, Haou's golden eyes narrowed as he let out a deep growl. The ground he was standing on became engulfed in a malicious golden light while Haou's grip on his sword tightened. If Austin had meant to get him made, it had certainly worked.

Back on the ground, Austin slowly aimed the fireball at Judai and Johan, smirking whilst glancing around to see if Haou would reappear. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" he taunted. "And you accused _me_ of being a coward!" He turned back to the teenagers, who were up against the wall, eyes glued to the fireball in his hand. "How do you like that? Mr. Tough Guy's abandoned you!"

"_He has not!" _Judai yelled angrily, starting to stand up. _"Stop talking like you're superior! Haou's gonna rip you apart! He-" _The brunette let out a squeak and fell back onto the ground as the ball of flame slammed into the wall where his head used to be. Johan glanced to his side, seeing Jehu still asleep beside him.

_(What a time to fall asleep….) _He thought quietly, getting onto his knees and crawling towards Jehu's unconscious form. _"Jehu, wake up. Please….." _He whispered, tugging at his spirit's arm. Jehu didn't move.

"That's IT! I'm done waiting for that bastard!" Austin roared, creating a huge ball of flame in the air above him. "For what's about to happen, hate Haou!" That was all wither Johan or Judai heard before the flame filled their vision as it sped towards them.

**Wow, what a lame cliffhanger. I'm soooo ashamed of myself for that one. Anyway…..Haha! Return of Austin and Cobra! Anyway, what's gonna happen? Will Haou save them? Will Jehu wake up? Or will Johan and Judai come out of this looking like pieces of bacon after a barbecue royal? **

**OMG, here's something that suddenly occurred to me; in fanfics, there are like two different Dark Johan's! I mean think about it. If the Dark Johan is called Yohan, they tend to be smart, kind, caring and the uke. If they're called Jehu, they tend to be hyperactive, mischievous jackasses who live off seduction! Has anyone else noticed that? Or am I just nuts?**

**Anyway, please review! There might be about….ten chapters left? I know what's gonna happen, so it should be roughly that long….actually, I was planning to put the entire Austin battle in one chapter, but then I was just like 'meh, screw it'. So here ya go!**

_~Oak-Chan_


	22. Chapter 19: Darkness

_Judai to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan))_

_[Ryo to Fubuki]_

_[[Fubuki to Ryo]]_

_Weapon to Spirit_

_Spirit to Weapon (Okay, look. It's getting kinda annoying to have to think up new combos for every spirit and weapon. So only the majors get their own combos, everyone else only gets to share this one. .)_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

**Me: Wow! Last chapter got great reviews! And- what's up with you?**

**Jehu: Last chapter got me kicked and called a stupid retard and yelled at. **

**Me: Aww, you're sulking. **

**Jehu: Am **_**not**_**. **

**Me: Are **_**too**_**. **

**Jehu: Am **_**not**_**. Your reviewers are mean!**

**Me: *whacks on back of head* Shaddup, mind slave! Say the line that hasn't been said in years!**

**Jehu: Oww! Bitch! Fine! Oak -chan does not own YGO GX as much as she would like to! YGO GX and all related ****official**** storylines (not fanfics) belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Toei Animation, Naoyuki Kageyama, Masahiro Hikokubo, Satou Masashi, Konami, Studio Dice, etc! And although she refuses to acknowledge 4Kids in any way, she'll kick your ass if you sue her! **

**Me: That's better. **

_Chapter 19: Darkness_

Right then, Jehu was in the middle of a beautiful dream. Everything was great, perfect, and he never, _ever_ wanted to wake up.

"Mou~ Jehu-sama~ " Haou looked up with big golden eyes, pouting cutely. Somehow he had reverted to his fourteen-year-old form, and as Jehu's eyes glowed greedily he started unzipping the boy's black jacket, revealing tanned and lightly muscled skin.

"Yes, Haou-chan?" he murmured, pulling the boy onto his lap. Haou giggled and ran his hand up Jehu's bare arm.

"You're so strong, Jehu-sama~" He reached up and kissed Jehu softly on the lips. "You're amazing~"

Jehu just smirked and shoved his hand into Haou's jacket, starting to feel the skin on the brunette's back. Haou blushed cutely, letting out small moans. "J-Jehu-sama…" Oh, Jehu loved it when Haou called him 'Jehu-sama'….

"_Jehu…."_

He blinked, glancing around the room while Haou stared up at him curiously. "What's wrong?"

"Did you hear something?" Haou tilted his head to one side before replying.

"No."

Jehu shook his head and grinned down at the boy. "Must've been hearin' things." He cupped Haou's face and pulled him up, locking lips with the boy. He smirked into the kiss, licking and biting at Haou's lips, waiting for the brunette to give him entrance. He got it soon enough, and he pushed his tongue in, mapping out the boy's mouth. Damn, Haou was delicious….

"_Jehu….! Wake up!"_

Jehu and Haou pulled away for air, and while Haou breathed heavily Jehu pulled at his collar and started biting and nipping at the boy's neck, causing Haou to start letting out cute moans.

"_JEHU!" _

Jehu pulled back and growled. Where the hell was that voice? What the hell did it want? He glanced down at Haou, whose cute smile turned into a vicious grin while his eyes glowed evilly. "Huh-" Haou disappeared in a flash of golden light, reappearing next to Yubel, who had popped out of nowhere. Both were in their adult forms, and Yubel suddenly pushed up against Haou and they started kissing passionately. Flames licked at the walls of the room, slowly engulfing everything, and-

"_JEHU!" _

Jehu's eyes flew open. "Hah- wha-" He looked up, seeing the huge flame shooting towards him. A glance to the right told him Johan and Judai were up against the wall as well. Johan had a burn mark on his arm.

The spirit didn't really have that much time to think. He just remembered scooping up the two boys and pushing them against the wall, shielding them with his body while huge, darkened crystals shot out of the ground. The flame pounded against the crystal shield, but was unable to break through it and died down.

As the heat faded, Jehu pulled away from the boys and glanced behind him, forcing the crystals to sink back into the earth. As they disappeared, he saw two men -one spirit and one weapon- gaping at him in shock. Jehu stood up, staring at the two of them. Had that man, as a spirit, just tried to injure _his _weapon? An unbelievable amount of rage flooded through the blunette's body as he clenched his fists. "You….._**bastard**_." Jehu growled.

The spirit in question flinched, staring at the seething blunette. "You woke up…" he said simply, as if he was having difficulty comprehending what had just happened. "You…."

Jehu let out a roar, pulling both his katana into existence as Austin tried to create a fireball. As Jehu lunged forward, a huge flash of light shone behind Austin, causing him to skid to a halt. Austin slowly turned around, finding himself face-to-face with Haou. And he didn't look happy.

The brunette lifted his sword in front of him. "For what's about to happen….." he quoted softly, staring Austin straight in the eye. "…..hate me." That was all Austin heard before Haou lunged forward and stabbed the sword straight into his heart.

Austin's eyes bulged in shock; he'd seen the sword go in but he couldn't feel any pain. Haou let out a roar and ripped the blade out through Austin's side, smashing through his ribcage and lungs. Blood gushed out onto the floor as the dark-skinned man fell to his knees. He stared up at Haou in shock, who had his sword above Austin's head. "…die."

Judai and Johan let out simultaneous horrified yells as Haou shoved the sword straight into the middle of Austin's forehead and pushed it all the way through, effectively splitting him in half. Austin fell back onto the ground, one eye staring ahead unseeing, the other mutilated beyond repair. In a flash of crimson red light, the spirit vanished, leaving behind only a pool of blood and a pile of crimson stained pendants.

Haou bent down and started gathering up the pendants while Jehu returned to Johan's side. "Jo-chan, are you hurt?" The older blunette muttered, tilting Johan's head so he could search for any bruises. Johan shook his head.

"_Just my arm."_ He smiled weakly while Jehu gently took his arm and examined the burn. Judai looked on in interest. Haou had never been that kind with him….. Suddenly, he felt a pang of….something. A foreign emotion…..jealousy? Judai shook his head. Was he jealous of _Johan_?

_-No, you're jealous of Jehu. - _Haou's voice calmly flooded into Judai's head, making him jump. The armour-clad brunette stood beside him, glancing at Johan, whom Jehu was currently fussing over. "Umm….." He looked at Judai awkwardly. "You OK?"

Judai nodded, equally awkwardly. _"Umm….yeah. Hang on… Johan!" _Both Johan and Jehu glanced over to Judai.

"_Yeah?" _Johan blinked while Judai flushed.

"_Umm… My house is about a five minute walk from here. My mom should be out, so if you want we can go sort out your arm…." _He mumbled, tapping his foot on the ground and totally ignoring the expression of pure shock on Haou's face.

Johan nodded. _"Sure, that'd be great!" _He stared up at Jehu. _"Right?"_

Jehu nodded, staring at Haou. "Sure."

Judai glanced around, then suddenly realised something. _"Hey, where's Cobra?" _

Haou shrugged. "He ran as soon as he realised Austin was lost. Guess he didn't want….._us_ to go after him." He said the word 'us' awkwardly, deliberately looking away from Jehu.

Judai and Johan glanced at each other, their eyes meeting. This might get awkward.

.:…:…:….:.

Ryo nodded at the woman behind the desk of the hospital reception as he left the building. He'd finally been discharged, and a damn good thing that was too.

_[[We're out~ we're out~ We're finally damn-well freaking OUT!]] _Ryo cringed at Fubuki's odd song, though he smiled softly.

_[You sound pleased.]_

_[[Duh! I was dying of boredom in there~]] _Fubuki appeared beside him in spirit form, grinning at his blunette weapon. _[[It's so great~ Sunlight, fresh air, green grass, tacos!]]_

_[We're in the middle of the city. There __**is**__ no grass.]_

_[[More grass than in the hospital.]] _Fubuki countered, sticking his tongue out while Ryo shook his head.

_[You are so stupid.] _

Fubuki pouted while Ryo lead them around a corner. _[[Hey! Ryo-chan! Where're we going? Your house is thatta-way!]] _The brunette pointed further down the street. Ryo shrugged.

_[[This is a shortcut.]]_ He explained nonchalantly, leading Fubuki down the corner. It turned out to lead into some sort of alleyway, which consisted of two, grey brick walls and a steel mesh fence in-between.

"_Now what?" _Fubuki asked, staring up at the fence. Ryo kicked it.

"Climb."The blunette started scaling the fence while Fubuki watched curiously.

"_Umm, Ryo-chan, the lady at the hospital said not to over-do yourself…" _He trailed off weakly while Ryo stared down at him.

"Do I look like I'm over-doing myself?" He said boredly. "C'mon. Let's go."

.:…:…:….:.

It was ten at night when Trueman arrived outside the Marufuji's house. He stood outside the door tentatively for a few minutes, then knocked on the door.

Inside, everyone was asleep, save for Ryo and Fubuki.

"_Whoa-oh." _Fubuki's eyes widened as gore splattered everywhere on-screen. _"Ewww….is that her liver?" _

Ryo stared at the screen for a second, then rolled his eyes and went back to his book. "I don't know how you can watch that stuff." He muttered. "It's so fake. Late-time horror movies suck." Fubuki pouted and turned back to the movie.

"_You'd say tha- WHOA!" _ Fubuki shot over to Ryo and clung to his arm. _"L-Look!"_ He pointed a shaky finger at the screen. Ryo glanced up, and his eyes widened.

"Oh….there's something wrong with this guy." the blunette shook his head, then glanced down at Fubuki, who was still clinging to his arm. "Y'know, there _was_ a murderer around like that…. He would knock on people's doors in the middle of the night, then when they opened the doors, he would drive them insane with mind games before ripping them apart…" He smirked slyly.

"_Shut up Ryo-chan, seriously. I'm creeped out enough as it is." _Fubuki complained, shivering slightly in his short-sleeve shirt and tracksuit pants. It was then that three sharp knocks came at the door. _"Holy crap!" _ He buried his face into Ryo's shoulder. Ryo gave him a sympathetic pat on the head.

"Can't say I expected that….wait there." Ryo gently pushed Fubuki away, and walked to the door. "Hello?"

The man that stood there….wasn't exactly what Ryo expected to see. Maybe in his late thirties, with tan skin and short spiked hair. He was wearing a black suit, and despite it being the middle of the night he had deeply tinted sunglasses. Ryo couldn't learn much from his expression, seeing as he was void of almost all emotion.

"Um….can I help you?" Ryo asked weakly. What was this guy, a Men-in-Black wannabe?

Trueman just smirked. "Not me, exactly. I'm looking for Fubuki Tenjōin."

To say Ryo was shocked was an understatement. "Fubuki? What do you want?"

"Not what I want. What Darkness wants." Trueman reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin silver chain. Hanging off the end was a pitch black onyx gem, roughly the same shape and size as a marble. Deep crimson red lines ran through it, almost seeming to cloud up the gem.

Ryo narrowed his eyes. "Okay, fine. What does Darkness want?"

To which Trueman replied with a grin; "Fubuki."

"…" Ryo took a backwards glance into the house. "…..wait here."

.:…:…:….:.

Fubuki was just getting back into the movie when Ryo came in. _"Hey Ryo-chan!" _He grinned up at the blunette. _"Who was it?" _ He was met by Ryo's completely grim face. _"Uhhh…. Ryo-chan?"_

"Fubuki, do you know someone or something called Darkness?" Ryo asked seriously, a frown adorning his features. A simple question that delivered a sensation similar to a punch to the stomach.

"_WH-what?" _ Fubuki stuttered. _"D-Darkness? Why?" _

Ryo gestured back out into the hallway. "There's a guy at the door who wants to see you. He's got a pendant, but he wouldn't tell me who he is or what he wants." Fubuki nodded slightly, standing up and began to follow Ryo to the door.

Trueman was still standing there, in the exact same stance Ryo had left him in. The only difference was that he was no longer smirking. Fubuki stared at him, trying to catch his gaze. But Trueman only seemed to stare straight ahead.

"_U-umm…." _Fubuki started weakly. _"…..you are?" _

That seemed to catch the man's attention, and he sent Fubuki an unnerving grin. Fubuki shivered a little, taking an automatic step closer to Ryo. "My name is Trueman."

Fubuki raised an eyebrow, letting out a hollow laugh. _"Trueman? That's not seriously your name, is it?" _He said with a grin, trying to mask his nervousness with a joke. When he realised no-one was falling for it, he dropped straight to the chase. _"How do you know Darkness?"_

Trueman once again held up his necklace, which hadn't left his grasp. "Darkness is my spirit." He said in a sly monotone.

Fubuki bit his lip. _"Can I see him?" _He asked quietly, but not quietly enough for Ryo to miss the hopeful note in his voice.

"Fubuki, who's Darkne-" Ryo started, but he was interrupted by Trueman.

"Of course. But not here." Trueman instructed. "There's a chance the residents may wake up."

Fubuki glanced back at Ryo questioningly, who gave an indifferent shrug. The brunette nodded. _"Lead the way." _

.:…:…:….:.

The whole trip to the town square had Ryo pretending to be nonchalant, but in truth his heart was racing. Who was Darkness? And why was Fubuki so eager to meet them?

The entire time, neither Fubuki nor Trueman had said a word. Fubuki seemed jittery, and was deep in thought, while Trueman stared straight ahead and blocked out everything going on around him, from the earlier car crash to the cat running just across his path. That cat had barely gotten away without Trueman stepping on him.

Ryo soon learnt that Fubuki wasn't going to respond to any verbal contact, so he swapped to mental. _[Fubuki, what the hell is going on?] _He questioned, but failed to keep the edge out of his tone.

Fubuki didn't respond for a minute, which led to Ryo grabbing him by the shoulders and wrenching him around to stare him straight in the face.

"Fubuki!" He growled. "Answer me, damnit! _Who. Is. Darkness?_"

Fubuki opened his mouth, but was distracted by Trueman calling for their attention. "Here will do." Trueman turned to face them while Ryo glanced around curiously.

The shopping centre they were in merely consisted of an outside plaza surrounded by shops on all sides. It was a sort of square shape, and there was only one path leading out. If Trueman, or this mysterious 'Darkness' for that matter, wanted a private place to talk, this was probably the way to go. It was near impossible for anyone to see inside except by the path, and it was deserted.

"_Where's Darkness?" _Fubuki asked in a near-yell, his voice wavering and helpless. _"Where's Yusuke?" _ Yusuke? Who was Yusuke? This just kept getting more and more confusing…..

Trueman just grinned as the square was slowly enveloped by a bright light. Icy blue for Fubuki and Ryo, and reddish-black for him.

When the light had faded, Fubuki was solid and dressed in his usual white trench coat with blue trimmings. And the boy in front of him was….. Wearing the exact same trench coat.

Well, not exactly the same. There were a few differences, such as at the shoulders. He was wearing it over black jeans, and underneath he seemed to be wearing a turtleneck shirt similar to Fubuki's. This lead Ryo to wonder whether or not Fubuki just for that outfit for show. The boy seemed to be around Fubuki's age but closer in height to Ryo, with slightly spiked shoulder-length green hair. His eyes were narrow and a deep amethyst colour, and as he glanced at Ryo the blunette felt as if they were piercing through him, almost dagger-like. He looked up and down Ryo's figure, then scowled and turned back to Fubuki, whom he gave a warm smile.

That in itself got Ryo riled almost instantly. That and the huge look of desperate relief decorating Fubuki's face. "…..Yusuke….!" He breathed, taking shaky steps forward. It was almost as if he was trying to decide whether to break down in tears or burst out laughing in pure joy.

The brunette stumbled forward a little, right into Yusuke's arms, who pulled him into a gentle embrace. "…..Fubuki…." The violet-eyed boy mumbled, "I found it."

That got Ryo's attention. _It_? He found _it_, as opposed to he found _him_? He spared a glance to the side, seeing Trueman was standing seemingly carelessly to the side, acting to all the world as if he didn't care. But Ryo could tell he was interested. He wanted to know where this went just as much as he did.

Fubuki flinched and pulled away, staring sadly up into Yusuke's eyes. "…you did?" He whispered, voice cracking. "I thought-"

"So did I, but it stayed with me! Even when I died!" Yusuke exclaimed. "See?" He took a step back, letting a glow envelop him for a second. When it faded, it seemed like Yusuke's own image was breaking away in pieces, the layers peeling away to show something new. And there before them stood the entity of pure darkness.

It was Yusuke, or was it? He was different. His white and blue coat had been replaced with a flowing black one of different design, with red trimmings as opposed to blue. His shoes had been replaced with huge black boots, and he now had gloves that only stretched up to cover his middle finger. On his face was an intricately carved dragon-like mask that covered his eyes and the surrounding areas; it was grey with a single eyehole for his right eye. For his left eye, Ryo noted with some disgust, his gem from his pendant was in place.

Yusuke –or should he call him Darkness? - let out an unnerving laugh that sent shivers even down Ryo's spine. "What do you think?" He asked, grinning viciously at Fubuki, who was staring at him with horror-filled eyes. "Even in death! I'm still Darkness!"

Ryo stepped forward, grabbing Fubuki's wrist. _"We're leaving. Now." _Fubuki turned back to stare at Ryo, a terrified look in his eyes."

"No, Ryo, I can't-" He stopped abruptly, staring back at Yusuke. Ryo didn't noticed the look of pure spite decorating Yusuke's face, because he was too busy thinking over how Fubuki had left the '-chan' out of his name. But he was brought back to attention by the wall of shadow slamming into him, sending him flying back into a wall.

"RYO!" Fubuki shouted desperately as Ryo slid to the floor, unmoving. "Ryo!" The brunette spun back to face Yusuke and yelled accusingly; "How could you?" Yusuke just responded with another of his unnerving grins. Fubuki let out a growl and started running towards Ryo. Yusuke raised his hand in a simple motion, and a huge pillar of shadow shot out of the ground, surrounding the two of them and blocking out Ryo and Trueman from sight.

"Fubuki, listen." Yusuke said quietly, taking Fubuki by the arm. "I didn't mean to hurt him. I swear."

Fubuki spun around. "Didn't mean to? How could you not mean to?" He yelled. "You attacked him, Yusuke!" Yusuke just pulled Fubuki closer towards him, not releasing him despite Fubuki's desperate bids for freedom.

"I'm sorry. I have trouble controlling it sometimes, y'know?" Yusuke gave a weak attempt at a smile. "But you have to accept. I'm not called Yusuke anymore. I'm Darkness. I can still be the same, but…." He trailed off faintly.

"No! No, you can't!" Fubuki yelled. "You aren't just not _called_ Yusuke anymore, you aren't Yusuke full stop! Ever since you started making people forget you and using shadow magic you stopped being Yusuke! Let go of me!"

Yusuke's small smile instantly morphed into a feral snarl. "No."

"Yusuke-" Fubuki started.

"You just said yourself, I'm not Yusuke!" The black-clad spirit yelled. "I'm Darkness! And since I'm Darkness, I'm going to start acting it! I only held onto Yusuke for _you_, and if you don't want him then I'm letting him go!"

It was fear. Fear that rushed through Fubuki's body then. No more anger. No more sadness. Just pure, unaltered fear. "Fubuki, contract to me!" Yusuke's voice was vicious now, no longer kind and gentle like Fubuki always remembered.

Fubuki shook his head. "_**No**_**.**"

Underneath the mask, Yusuke's eyes narrowed. "_What_ did you say?" He growled.

"I said no!" Fubuki yelled. "I can't! I'm contracted to Haou! Let of me!" Yusuke's grip slackened in his shock, but not enough for Fubuki to break free.

"Who's Haou?" Yusuke asked quietly.

"A friend!" Fubuki's attempts at pulling away got more desperate, to no avail. Yusuke's fingernails dug into his wrist, and he let out a small cry of pain.

Yusuke stared at the brunette, then said sadly; "If that's the case, then die."

.:…:…:….:.

"_We didn't have to leave, y'know." _Jehu said suddenly, breaking the awkward silence between him and Johan. _"I know you wanted to spend more time with Judai, and he said ya could stay, so why'd ya leave?"_

Johan shook his head. "It was getting awkward between you and Haou."

Jehu rolled his eyes. _"There ya go again. Always have to either break the ice or leave it." _He paused in the middle of the street, even as Johan continued ahead. _"That's weird."_

Johan glanced back at him. "What's weird?"

Jehu stared towards the plaza, which was blocked by buildings. _"I sense a spirit battle, that-a-way." _He pointed towards the clump of shops. _"It's that malicious energy I sensed a few nights back. And the other one's kinda familiar." _He grinned. _"Wanna go watch?" _

Johan shook his head and sighed. "You're unbelievable."

But Jehu was already gone, heading into the plaza. Johan let out a yell and raced after him. When the younger blunette caught up with him, Jehu was standing a few metres away from a huge pillar of darkness. _"Whoa." _He said simply. _"That's one big shadow."_

Johan ignored him and stared around the square. He saw one weapon, a man that was clearly much older than him. He seemed to be ignoring the boy, so Johan turned to the left, where a translucent teenager maybe a few years older than him was groaning and getting to his feet, rubbing his head. "Hey, isn't that-"

Jehu was watching him too. _"Hey! He was there when me and Haou were fighting!" _The spirit exclaimed suddenly. Johan's eyes filled with recognition.

"That's Ryo!" He broke into a sprint, running to the older blunette's side. "Hey! Are you all right?"

Ryo shook his head, looking ahead at the pillar. _"Fubuki's in there…." _He whispered weakly. _"Help him, Anderson….." _He turned to Johan, grey eyes staring into green almost pleadingly.

Johan stood up straight. "Jehu!" He called, but his spirit just nodded and grinned.

"_Anything for a fight, eh?" _In a matter of seconds, Johan and Jehu had swapped places. "Okay, let's go!" A now solid Jehu ran to the pillar, holding up his hand as it crackled with a darkened rainbow charge. "HERE!" He roared, slamming his hand into the shadow.

Immediately the light broke through the pillar, cracking through it as the shadow began to fall apart. A wind picked up, and the tail of Jehu's coat began whipping around his legs as he kept up the blast.

Inside the pillar, Yusuke, still holding onto Fubuki wrist, shot around in time to see Jehu break through the shield, a malicious grin decorating his face.

"Who are you?" Yusuke yelled as Fubuki's eyes widened.

Jehu just laughed, and replied; "I'm Jehu Ralleigh!" He pointed at Yusuke with his grin growing. "And you're dead!"

**Is it just me, or does that ending seem kind of rushed? Ahh, well. Now for my traditional string of random questions! Who is Yusuke? What connection does he have to Fubuki? And who's going to win, him or Jehu? Place your bets, people…**

**Now, as I'm sure any fellow aussies are aware, we've been having the national election. And apparently we've got a hung government. **

**As depressing a note as that is, I could really care less about the outcome. So long as they don't introduce that law saying that to play extra-curricular sport, students have to sign a document saying they swear to attend school everyday. What I **_**do **_**care about is the fact that since ABC did live coverage full of pointless talking and endless statistics that nobody except my dad watched, **_**The Bill **_**was cancelled and my mom and I couldn't watch. **

**Now, what the hell. Couldn't they have played the regular shows and just done little updates in between? But no. Apparently more people would watch pointless talking and endless statistics than they would violence, drama, and police car chases. And apparently **_**The Bill's **_**cancelled next week as well. Sigh…**

**Oh, well. So long as **_**Top Gear's **_**still on Tuesday, I guess I won't kill anybody.**

**Anyway, please review! I'd love to know what you guys thought! Everything's about to take a dramatic turn for the worst, so I'd just love to see what you think of the start of the spin! :D**

~Oak-chan


	23. Chapter 20: Sadism

_Judai to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan))_

_[Ryo to Fubuki]_

_[[Fubuki to Ryo]]_

_Weapon to Spirit_

_Spirit to Weapon (Okay, look. It's getting kinda annoying to have to think up new combos for every spirit and weapon. So only the majors get their own combos, everyone else only gets to share this one. .)_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

**Me: Awesome! Twenty chapters already! And now the bets are pooled in, we have Jehu as the favourite to win!**

**Haou: I'm still pissed at you, y'know.**

**Me: Okay, so you were a **_**little **_**OOC last chapter. **

**Haou: A little?**

**Me: *complains* It was **_**Jehu's**_** dream! What did you expect?**

**Haou: *starts whacking me on the head* Something a little more dignified on my end!**

**Me: Owww! You jerk! Say the line! ...please?**

**Haou: Fine! Oak-chan would like to say that in this chapter, she'll refer to Yusuke as both Yusuke and Darkness, and she does not own YGO GX as much as she would like to. YGO GX and all related ****official**** storylines (not fanfics) belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Toei Animation, Naoyuki Kageyama, Masahiro Hikokubo, Satou Masashi, Konami, Studio Dice, etc. And although she refuses to acknowledge 4Kids in any way, she'll chase after you with her bazooka and her metal bar if you try to sue her!**

**Me: Thank you! And without further ado; Yusuke vs. Jehu! *rings bell* **_**Ding Ding! **_

_Chapter 20: Sadism_

"_Who are you?" Yusuke yelled as Fubuki's eyes widened._

_Jehu just laughed, and replied; "I'm Jehu Ralleigh!" He pointed at Yusuke with his grin growing. "And you're dead!" _

.:…:…:….:.

Jehu's exclamation got mixed reactions from everybody; wide eyes from Fubuki, silence from Trueman, an acknowledging nod from Ryo, confusion from Yusuke and a face-palm and mutterings of _"That moron!" _from Johan.

"What do you want?" Yusuke growled, grip tightening on Fubuki's wrist. The latter let out a small yelp as Yusuke's fingernails dug further into his flesh.

Jehu made a big deal out of sighing and acting like Yusuke was a moron. "I'm challenging you, dumbass!" He folded his arms and stared at Darkness pointedly. "Besides that, I think the kid's in pain. Let go of him." Yusuke's eyes narrowed.

"How about no?"

Jehu raised an eyebrow, letting his arms fall to his sides. A small smirk decorated his lips as his hands started crackling with the same dark rainbow light as before, and the patch of concrete he was standing on started crystallising. Jehu took a step forward; the crystal spread to where his foot was now.

"How about I reiterate?" Jehu asked, his voice oddly pleasant. Then his eyes narrowed and he let out a feral snarl, katana appearing in his hands. "LET HIM GO!" He took an oddly-placed step forward, then disappeared. Yusuke stumbled back in his shock.

"Where'd he g-" Yusuke started, then stopped when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up straight. He turned around slightly just as Jehu reappeared behind him, airborne and poised to strike.

"Here!" Jehu yelled, striking forward with the blade as Yusuke pulled away from Fubuki, taking several steps back. Jehu landed neatly on all fours as Fubuki fell backwards, then stood up straight, purposely placing himself directly between Fubuki and Darkness. He smirked while Yusuke growled. "That's better!" the blunette called almost gloatingly, twirling a katana between his fingers. He glanced back at Fubuki. "Now scram, kid."

In any other situation, Fubuki might have gotten riled up for being called a kid, but he was too busy panicking. So instead, the brunette nodded and ran over to Ryo. Fubuki fell roughly into his weapon's arms, and Ryo automatically wrapped him into a warm embrace. _"Are you okay?" _Ryo asked softly. Fubuki nodded shakily.

"Okay, now that's sorted…." Jehu turned away from the spectators and grinned at Yusuke. "Hand over your pendants, and I might not hurt ya!"

"Drop dead!" Yusuke hissed, glaring angrily at Jehu.

"Bit late for that." Jehu smiled a little at his own joke. "C'mon kid, just hand 'em over!"

"No!" Yusuke yelled. "What do you take me for?"

"Someone who knows a good deal when he sees it." Jehu answered, licking his lips sadistically. "But despite that, a moron who won't get over his ego."

"_Hypocrite!" _Johan yelled, causing Fubuki to snicker a little while Ryo rolled his eyes. Jehu waved his hand dismissively at Johan; a sign taken to read as 'Not now!'

Yusuke growled, clenching his fist then opening it again over and over. "No. Here's what's gonna happen."

Jehu raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"You're gonna die!" Yusuke yelled, throwing his hand forward as darkness began pooling at his feet. The shadow shot up and sliced through the ground, racing towards Jehu at amazing pace. The blunette frowned and leapt to the side, easily evading the attack.

He flipped his katana over in his hands, roughly catching them by the handles again and again while he began to circle Darkness. Yusuke growled, throwing his hand forward over and over, each time shooting a fresh wave of shadow at Jehu.

Each attack was stronger, but none of them ever reached their target as Jehu leapt and weaved through the blasts, all the while getting closer and closer to Yusuke. The attacks grew more and more frenzied; they cluttered together and began interlacing themselves together. Jehu growled as a blast of shadow cut through his shoulder, letting blood splatter on the ground.

Eventually the attacks stopped; Yusuke stood exhausted while the ground around him was sliced up and near-destroyed. Jehu smirked, having taken what he considered to be minimal damage. His body was sliced in several places, and sure, there was a gaping hole through his lower stomach, but they would disappear as soon as he retreated to Johan's mind. So no harm done.

"Is that it?" Jehu called, goading Yusuke's evident exhaustion. "You've got power, but you've got no control!"

"Sh…..shut up…." Yusuke panted, shoulders heaving. "I'll….wipe that smug smirk off your face!" He yelled as a shadow enveloped him. As soon as it peeled away, Yusuke was back to full power. Jehu raised an eyebrow and whistled.

"Nice trick." He smirked. "Watch this." He flung his hands towards the sky as the ground at his feet started glowing with an ethereal light. "Check this out!" Jehu yelled as his eyes began glowing. Yusuke frowned, then his eyes shot wide open as the ground began rumbling, shaking as though being hit by an earthquake.

"What are you doing?" Yusuke shouted, desperately trying to stay upright.

Away from the battle, Johan fell against the wall as Fubuki and Ryo knelt on the ground, clinging to each other as though they were their only lifeline. _"Wh-what's going on?" _Johan yelled desperately as he sunk to his knees. _"Jehu!"_

Their panic only grew as uncountable huge, multi-coloured crystals began shooting out of the earth, taking over the battlefield and morphing it into something that could only benefit Jehu. The rumbling ceased, and as the spectators stared around in wonder, Jehu stepped towards a crystal and sunk right into it.

"What?" Yusuke glanced around frantically as Jehu jumped from being inside one crystal to another until he vanished from the darkness-infused spirit's view entirely. "Where'd he go?" He yelled.

"_Over here~!_" Yusuke slowly turned around as Jehu started to melt out of the crystal, so half of him was out in the open. His eyes widened in mock surprise, then he grinned at Yusuke's shock and raised a katana. "Oh, you found me."

He shot forward, stabbing into Yusuke. He pushed the amethyst-eyed boy up against a crystal, and left him pinned there as he pulled his other katana out of nothingness. "Look at you, so helpless…." Jehu murmured as he stabbed the second katana into Yusuke's shoulder, ignoring the boy's cries of pain as he started to pull daggers off his belt. Amber eyes glinted maliciously as he held the first small blade up so that the light, reflected off the crystals, caught it. "I wonder how many of these I can stab into you before you die."

He let out an unnerving laugh, then stabbed the first blade into Yusuke's lower stomach. "That's one." Jehu pulled out a second blade, grinning in a disgustingly murderous manner as Yusuke's eyes widened. "Here's two."

Johan cringed as Yusuke's screams filled the air, turning away from the scene in disgust. Fubuki let out a whimper and buried his face in Ryo's chest. "Johan, can't you stop him?" The brunette asked, through his voice was muffled. "Stop him…"

Ryo frowned, pulling Fubuki up so he was looking the spirit right in the eye. _"Why would you want to save him?" _The blunette demanded while Fubuki looked away.

"When I was alive…." He murmured. "Yusuke was my best friend."

"_Well he sure as hell isn't now!" _Ryo yelled while Johan looked on. Anything was better than watching Jehu torture Yusuke, even if it was Ryo shouting at a cringing Fubuki.

Fubuki glared at Ryo, who automatically flinched. "No! It's not Yusuke's fault! When his parents died-" He cut off, biting his lip.

"_When his parents died?" _Johan supplied.

"…..when his parents died…. Yusuke was always really nice! I mean, he was smart, and helpful, and he was set for life! He was doing really well in school, and everything seemed perfect!" Fubuki shook his head. "But when his parents died, he got really depressed. I mean, I get _why_, but then he found this book, and he started doing all these weird dark rituals, trying to bring them back to life!

"He killed animals and used their blood and his blood and nothing worked…. He kept creating these weird creatures….like something out of a horror movie… they would die straight after, but when Yusuke realised he couldn't bring them back he said he would kill himself! He disappeared, and I went looking for him, and I found him doing this ritual….. He said when he died, everyone would forget him…. It would be like he never existed!" Fubuki's eyes began brimming with tears, and he held back a sob.

"I couldn't stop him! All this darkness covered him, and then it was like he was burning…. When it disappeared he was like…. Like that!" He pointed in the general direction of the crystals, not daring to look.

"_Then what?" _Ryo asked softly.

"Then…. Then he called himself Darkness….. And…. He stabbed himself…..and…. he… he…. _**died**_." Fubuki burst into tears as Ryo wrapped him into an embrace.

Yusuke glared up at Jehu, who was grinning down at him. "And with this," The blunette declared with a feral laugh. "It's fifteen! That's a record!" He lifted the final blade, ready to finish Yusuke off. "Just to be nice, I'll make sure this one doesn't hurt." He added as an afterthought.

Amethyst eyes narrowed. "It won't hurt," Yusuke growled as he began sinking into the crystal. "Because it won't hit." Before Jehu could do anything, Yusuke leapt back out on the opposite side of the crystal wall, letting shadow envelop him once again. As it faded, the blood-encrusted blades fell to the ground, while Yusuke stood up, unharmed. Jehu growled, stepping straight through the crystal.

"You're annoying," He noted, picking a dagger off the ground. He examined the blood, then licked it off the blade. "It'll be fun killing ya, though." Jehu gave him a grin. Yusuke visibly shuddered, then glanced back at Johan, Ryo and Fubuki.

"No…." He muttered as a glowing circle appeared on the ground, surrounding him. "That won't happen." A second appeared around the first, and between the two circles runic symbols began chalking themselves into the ground. Jehu's eyes narrowed as the circles grew, spreading out so they covered the whole battlefield. Yusuke stared directly at Johan, who flinched under his amethyst gaze. "Sorry about this."

Jehu took a step forward. "What-" He was cut off as shadow shot out of the ground, stabbing into him and wrapping itself around him like a tentacle. Johan leapt to his feet.

"_Jehu-"_ He yelled, then let out a yell as a similar shadow slowly started wrapping itself around him. _"Wh-what?" _Yusuke closed his eyes and began chanting some sort of ancient mantra as Johan and Jehu began glowing with the same light. And when it faded, and Yusuke finished his spell, Johan and Jehu had swapped places.

Jehu was spirit.

Johan was solid.

It took a few minutes before _anyone_ realised what had happened, but when they did shock was plentiful. Jehu stared through his translucent hands, while Johan just looked ahead in shock. Yusuke grinned. "My turn."

"_What did you do?" _Jehu roared, as Johan took shaky steps away from Yusuke.

Yusuke shrugged. "Tried a new spell." He lifted his hand and pointed at Johan. "Sorry about this. But really, blame the spirit." Huge, black, shadowy tendrils pooled at Johan's feet, slowly winding around his feet, then up his legs and around his torso. Johan let out a strangled cry as it wrapped itself around his throat, slowly beginning to crush his windpipe.

"_JOHAN!" _Jehu yelled, running to the pillar of shadow that was slowly lifting Johan into the air. He immediately turned on Yusuke, who flinched under the spirit's amber gaze. _"You bastard! Let him go!" _He roared.

Yusuke shook his head. "Shut up and watch."

Blood started splattering on the floor; falling from the wounds the tendrils created as they dug into Johan's skin. The blunette couldn't breathe; but he could taste the coppery liquid filling up in his mouth. He couldn't bring himself to spit it out; instead it dripped out, covering his lips. His pale shirt had been dyed crimson, and a huge puddle of blood began pooling beneath him.

Jehu's face was white. _"What do you want?" _He yelled at Yusuke, who smirked.

"Surrender." The amethyst-eyed boy instructed. "Your pendants, all of them. And I never want to see your face again, got that?" Jehu nodded, ripping the dark rainbow crystal pendant from his neck. He threw it at Yusuke; it landed at his feet. Then the blunette started digging pendants out of his pockets; they joined the pile.

Yusuke nodded, and begrudgingly lowered Johan to the ground. As soon as the boy's feet touched the ground, then tendrils holding him up vanished, and he fell unconscious to the floor. Jehu made to race forward, but a glare from Yusuke held him back. Darkness pocketed all the pendants, then wordlessly made his way over to Trueman, who gave him an approving nod. The two made way to leave the plaza; Yusuke gave Fubuki a sidewards glance. When he saw the brunette's terrified face, and the protective grip Ryo had on him, he sighed and continued out of the plaza, ignoring them all.

He ignored Fubuki's shaky tears as the fell to the ground.

He ignored Ryo's anger as he hugged the brunette, desperately trying to stop the tears.

And he ignored Jehu, who had raced to Johan's side, and was now cradling his weapon's limb, blood-covered body as tears streaked down his face.

**And that's chapter 20! Wow, loads of you owe me money now! By the by, I didn't make Jehu lose just to spite you guys; it's actually a plot point. That ending seems kinda rushed as well. Wow, why **_**do**_** I keep doing that? Anyway! Random string of questions, away!**

**What's going to happen to Johan? Will he be okay? And who's Yusuke going to target next? Is Fubuki safe? Or is something dreadful going to happen? What about Saiou? Where's he in all this? And is Yubel finally going to reappear? **

**Okay, back on the Yohan/Jehu thing. Why **_**do **_** they call him Yohan? I know, Johan + Yubel, but they **_**sound the same!**_ **Let's look at this in a real life situation:**

**Random: Hey! J/Yohan!**

**Johan and Yohan: *simultaneous turnaround* Yeah?**

**It would get sooooo confusing. And annoying. **

**We're doing orienteering in school today, and for some reason I kept mixing up most of the blocks. Like, I'd think F block was G block and A block was B block and pathetic stuff like that. I blame the fact that the maps are about nineteen years out of date. My map-reading skills are fine. As good as James May's, in fact. **

**Please review! I really wanna know what you guys think! Later~!**

~Oak-chan


	24. Chapter 21: Panic

_Judai to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan))_

_[Ryo to Fubuki]_

_[[Fubuki to Ryo]]_

_/-Yubel thinking-/_

_Weapon to Spirit_

_Spirit to Weapon (Okay, look. It's getting kinda annoying to have to think up new combos for every spirit and weapon. So only the majors get their own combos, everyone else only gets to share this one. .)_

_**Edo Thinking, Edo to Saiou **__**and/or Edo's psychic trances**_

_***Saiou to Edo* (He's finally here .)**_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

**Me: Wow! Last chapter was fun!**

**Yubel: Yeah, I know! I laughed the whole time!**

**Me: Jehu's little torture session was beyond hilarious!**

**Yubel: I laughed more at Jehu crying at the end!**

**Me: Yeah! That was pretty funny! **_**Jehu! **__**Crying! **_

**Yubel: XD **

**Me: And….. Now! The overly clichéd line!**

**Yubel: Overly clichéd line, away! Oak-chan would like to say that in this chapter, she'll refer to Yusuke as both Yusuke and Darkness, and she does not own YGO GX as much as she would like to! YGO GX and all related ****official**** storylines (not fanfics) belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Toei Animation, Naoyuki Kageyama, Masahiro Hikokubo, Satou Masashi, Konami, Studio Dice, etc. And although she refuses to acknowledge 4Kids in any way, we'll go tag-team on ya and kick**___**ALL**_** your asses if anyone tries to sue her!**

**Me: On top of that, this chapter goes out to **_**Chrisandersenyuki! **_**If it wasn't for your help, it would probably be Christmas before this got updated! Thank you so much!**

**Yubel: Yup! You rule, Chris! (Can we call you that? :3)**

_Chapter 21: Panic_

He could feel nothing. Hear, nothing. See, nothing. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, and couldn't sense anything around him.

And yet, he was perfectly content.

He would have been fine spending the rest of forever there.

It seemed like he was just waking up, because he couldn't remember really doing anything before this nothingness. Suddenly, a weight fell atop him- it felt like something was wrapped securely around him, holding him into place. Not tight, not loose, just right. Johan let out a small sigh of content as all feeling returned to him.

Small jolts of pain shot up his limbs- like being lightly electrocuted while, at the same time, being jabbed with tiny pins. A groan passed his lips as his hearing kicked in.

"_Johan…. I'm sorry…."_

…..what? Johan strained his ears, listening to the sound of someone sobbing.

"_I'm so sorry…."_

Johan blinked and opened his eyes, but still blackness. Slowly, though, the veil of darkness started to lift and he could see. But what was he seeing? Johan couldn't really tell.

It wasn't black, exactly; it was dark blue. Dark blue with huge purple lights floating around the air, emanating from the ground. "What's going on….?"

"_Johan?"_

Everything was slowly becoming clearer; Jehu was staring down at him worriedly, tearstains on his face. Johan blinked. Why was Jehu crying? "Why are you crying?" He asked softly.

Jehu's amber eyes widened as he desperately started wiping at his eyes with one arm. _"Sh-shut up! I'm not crying!" _

Johan made way to sit up, but found he was being held down by one of Jehu's arms. He looked around, taking in the situation. He was lying on Jehu's lap, and his spirit had been holding him. "Jehu…?" He pushed the older blunette's arm away and sat up. "…..what happened? What's going on?"

Jehu reached forward and pulled Johan into his arms, hugging him tightly. _"You're okay." _Fresh tears began running down his face as Johan's eyes widened. _"You're okay…. I thought….. We were too late….. Oh god, I'm sorry Johan, this is all my fault!" _Jehu sobbed, his grip on Johan tightening.

Johan reached up and wrapped his arms around Jehu, confused as to what was going on. "Jehu, I'm fine. Stop crying, this isn't like you!" Jehu nodded, wiping the tears away.

"_I'm sorry." _He repeated.

Johan nodded. "What happened?" He looked around, taking in the surroundings. "What is this place?"

Jehu stood up, pulling Johan to his feet. _"This is the spirit realm." _

.:…:…:….:.

It was raining when Yubel returned to the other side of the city that night. He stared at the roof of the carriage, feeling the rumbling as the train was pulled along the tracks. He let out a sigh and stared out the window, watching the lights of the city flash by. Thunder struck across the heavens, and Yubel's own reflection was staring back at him from within the glass. Mismatched eyes slowly lidded over as the drowsiness started to kick in.

_/-I wonder what's happened?-/ _He mused, letting himself sink into his thoughts. _/-If Haou's alive. If Jehu's dead. I shouldn't have left….-/_ The image of the battle flashed in his mind. He could remember it perfectly. And it still gave him nightmares; the fire licking at the walls as he was dragged outside, the flames enveloping the building, the fear that Haou couldn't get out…

He shook his head, casting those thoughts aside. Only a few things mattered now. Finding Haou, killing Jehu, and….

A small smile graced his lips. And….. He could hardly wait.

Yubel was snapped out of his thoughts by the train grinding to a halt on the tracks.

"_**Current Stop; Western Domino City." **_An unfamiliar voice crackled over the intercom. _**"Please leave the train if this is your stop." **_

Yubel eased himself off the seat and took a firm hold on his rucksack as he left the compartment, joining the throng of people entering West Domino City.

As he stepped onto the station the train creaked back to life and took off down the tunnels. Yubel watched it leave, then headed up the stairs and out the station.

The frigid air hit him instantly; freezing him almost to the core. Yubel shivered a little, then gritted his teeth and ploughed off into the night.

.:…:…:….:.

The next morning, Judai awoke in a state of panic.

That was because Edo decided to wake him up by dumping a bucket full of ice-cold water over his head.

Needless to say, Haou found the whole thing hilarious.

Until he ended up with a pillow in his face.

"Edo…" Judai grumbled, shooting his cousin a heated glare. "It's Sunday. Sunday equals no work and sleep ins. So what the hell."

But Edo's expression wasn't a triumphant one. It was fear. Actual fear. "Judai…" He whispered. "Johan's mom called in. Johan…. Didn't come home last night."

Judai blinked, not really comprehending what his cousin was saying. "What?"

"Judai, Johan's missing!" Edo yelled. "Something happened and now no-one can find him!"

Judai shot upright, staring in shock at Edo. "What? But… what could have happened?" He tussled with the blankets and managed to escape out onto the floor. "You don't think he could have gotten into a fight? Or attacked by muggers? Or rapists or something?" His eyes shot wide open. "Oh god, what if he's dead? What if he's _dead_, Edo? What do we do?"

"I don't know!" Edo shouted back. "I-"

"Ju-chan!" The two froze when they heard Reiko Yuki's voice float up from the bottom floor. "E-chan! There's someone here to see you!"

Edo and Judai barely exchanged glances before they raced down into the living room to see who it was, both praying it was Johan and he was alive. And there, next to Reiko….

"Yubel?"

"Fubuki?"

To say the two were surprised was an understatement. To say they were shocked was also an understatement. Their jaws dropped and eyes widened. Reiko frowned, completely unaware of the spirit Fubuki standing next to their guest. Yubel blinked, and held up his hand in greeting while Fubuki looked away awkwardly.

"Hey!" He greeted, then his stance turned serious. "We need to talk."

.:…:…:….:.

The five (now including Haou) settled in Judai's room, all exchanging odd glances and staring at each other.

"Yubel, Fubuki…" Judai glanced between the two of them. "…well, I guess it's good to see you, but, why…?"

"_Translation; what the hell are you two doing here?" _Haou cut in bluntly. Yubel blushed while Fubuki stared at the floor.

"Well…." Yubel paused, as if trying to phrase his words. "I came to see you, Haou, and ran into Fubuki on the way here…. Fubuki's news is a little more important, so…"

Fubuki looked up. _"You got a call from Johan's mom, right?" _He intoned, all traces of his usual happy-go-lucky attitude missing. _"About how he didn't come home last night?"_

Edo nodded, then frowned. "Yeah…. But how do you know…?"

Fubuki but his lip. _"I know because it's my fault." _

Judai and Edo exchanged glances, then said simultaneously; "What happened."

.:…:…:….:.

Yusuke let out a growl, staring through the window from his perch in the tree. Trueman was off somewhere, and spirit Yusuke had followed Fubuki from the hotel room Ryo had checked himself into in order to take care of Johan to…. Someone's house. On the way, he ran into someone he called 'Yubel'. They seemed to recognise each other, but the thing that _really _got on his nerves was that they were both looking for 'Haou'.

.:…:…:….:.

"_Fubuki, contract to me!" Yusuke's voice was vicious now, no longer kind and gentle like Fubuki always remembered. _

_Fubuki shook his head. "__**No.**__" _

_Underneath the mask, Yusuke's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?" He growled._

"_I said no!" Fubuki yelled. "I can't! I'm contracted to Haou! Let of me!" Yusuke's grip slackened in his shock, but not enough for Fubuki to break free. _

"_Who's Haou?" Yusuke asked quietly. _

"_A friend!" Fubuki's attempts at pulling away got more desperate, to no avail. Yusuke's fingernails dug into his wrist and he let out a small cry of pain. _

.:…:…:….:.

Another involuntary growl left his lips. Haou. Haou, the one Fubuki had contracted to, the one that prevented Fubuki from contracting to _him_.

"_Haou…." _He mumbled, trying the name aloud for the first time. _"Haou…. I'll kill you…. You took Fubuki away from me… You and… That…."_ He trailed off, unable to come up with a word filled with enough loathing to describe the one Fubuki called 'Ryo'. _"….I'll make you pay…" _He whispered, amethyst eyes blazing with a deep hatred, as well as something else.

Although Yusuke didn't realise it, that something else was insanity.

.:…:…:….:.

"WHAT?" Judai yelled as Fubuki finished his story. "You…. You mean…. Oh my god." He breathed, chocolatey brown eyes filled with panic. "Is…. Is he okay?"

Fubuki shrugged weakly. _"I…..we…..don't know." _He admitted reluctantly. _"I mean, Jehu walked to the closest hotel with us, we checked in, and as soon as we were in a room he said he was taking Johan to the spirit realm to heal. Neither of them have woken up since."_

Judai leapt off the bed and landed neatly on the floor. "We have to go see if he's all right!" The brunette yelled, making for the door. "Fubuki, take me to him?"

Fubuki blinked, then nodded. _"Yeah…"_ He mumbled, pushing himself off the mattress. _"It's not too far… maybe ten minutes."_

Haou shook his head and vanished, taking up residence in Judai's mind once again. Yubel ran after Judai and Fubuki, leaving Edo in the room.

The silver-haired boy stared at his feet, tapping them against the carpeted floor while he bit his lip. _**Not good. **_He thought. _**This is **__**not**__** good.**_

_***What is it, little bird?* **_A mocking voice appeared in his mind, eliciting a shocked gasp from its host. _***Worried about the thief? What about the king and the rose? Worried about them, too?***_

Edo let out an involuntary growl. _**You'd better leave them alone. **_He said mentally while Saiou smirked from his perch inside Edo's mind.

_***Or you'll do what?* **_Saiou asked boredly, succeeding in riling up Edo even more. However, he received silence as his answer. _***Thought so. There's nothing you can do to stop me, little bird, and you **_**know**_** it.***_

_**What do you want? **_Edo demanded. _**What do you have to gain from destroying them? Wasn't it enough that you murdered them? Wasn't that enough for you?**_

Saiou smirked, then replied; _***Technically, I didn't murder them. The thief killed the king and the rose. I just orchestrated it.***_

_**Don't you have any shame? **_Edo yelled again. _**Yubel was your student! Don't you care about him?**_

_***Not really, no.* **_Saiou replied testily. _***Better manners, little bird, or I'll have to punish you.***_

Edo froze. He didn't want that. Not again. Saiou may not have been able to hurt him physically, but he could create a huge amount of pain, all of which emanated from the boy's mind.

_***Apologise.* **_The spirit commanded while Edo bit his lip.

…_**.I'm sorry. **_Edo muttered, hating the words he'd just uttered. He wasn't sorry. Saiou didn't deserve his apology. But it was his pride or pain of such a nature that it blinded him, and Edo would rather have his ego take a few hits than have to submit to Saiou's 'punishment' again.

_***That's better. Now go follow your friends. I want to see if Jehu is still in the game**_**.**_*** **_

.:…:…:….:.

It was mid-morning, but the streets were surprisingly empty. As the four trekked up the street, Fubuki kept shooting nervous glances at the few people that came their way. He was mostly ignored, but got a glance from a girl with curly orangey-red hair. He walked straight past her, though, ignoring the dark-haired spirit that appeared beside her.

Judai nervously tapped his fingers against the side of his leg, staring straight ahead with Yubel right beside him while Edo lagged behind. Which in itself was strange enough (Edo was always up at the front of the group with his cousin), but Judai was too worried to be really noticing that.

_I don't believe it. _Judai mulled silently, sparing a glance at a lame dog that crossed his path. _Why'd Jehu save Fubuki? Did he just want a fight? How'd that guy… Yusuke…. How'd he turn a solid into a spirit? That shouldn't be possible, right?_

Haou shrugged from inside Judai's mind. _–Tenjōin said that Yusuke experimented with dark magic when he was alive. It's probably something leftover from then.-_

_But why'd Yusuke do that, anyway? Why'd he want to hurt Johan?_

_-Because he was fighting Jehu. He knew he couldn't win. So he took drastic measures. - _Haou replied nonchalantly. It was pretty easy to see he couldn't care less about Johan or Jehu.

Sometimes, Judai really, really hated Haou.

.:…:…:….:.

Yusuke was still watching them. He was still watching when a spirit appeared next to the brunette boy, only to whack him on the head and yell something incomprehensible. His eyes narrowed when he saw that this new spirit looked exactly like his weapon.

Just like those two from before.

Why was that?

He was already guilty about hurting that weapon. He had nothing to do with it. But he was desperate. And at the time… it had seemed hilarious. But that sort of thing kept happening when he was Darkness.

Maybe it would be easier if didn't look like they were….

Family?

Even if they weren't, the two from before might as well have been brothers. Who was he to attack family? He, of all people, knew the importance of family.

He watched as the raven haired boy laughed, and even as the one with silver hair smirked, acting superior as he pointed out something, only to have both brunettes yell at him. Yusuke glanced at the front of the group, where Fubuki was watching quietly. That in itself wasn't right. Fubuki wasn't supposed to be sad. He was supposed to be happy. All the time.

He couldn't shake the nagging feeling it was _his_fault Fubuki was so depressed…

He tore himself away from his old best friend and back to Haou. Anger bubbled inside him.

He couldn't help it.

His lips twitched into a smirk as shadow enveloped him.

When it cleared, he was Darkness.

.:…:…:….:.

Judai and Edo walked together, trailing behind Fubuki while Yubel and Haou brought up the back.

"I can't help but get the feeling," Yubel started while Haou looked on with interest, "that something awful is going to happen."

Haou raised an eyebrow. _"Like what?"_

"I don't know. It's just-" Yubel's dichromatic eyes shot wide open while Haou let out a growl as a chill ran up both their spines.

Fubuki froze in the middle of the road, causing Judai to bump into him. "Ehh, Fubuki? What's up?"

Fubuki visibly shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself as he fell to his knees. _"He's here…" _He managed to whisper. _"Darkness…."_

A mixed silver and gold light filled the area as Yubel and Haou took on their true solid forms while Judai took on his spirit. "All right!" Haou yelled, grasping his sword. "Come out, Darkness!"

Yubel pulled an ornate dagger out of nothingness as his wings flared out behind him. "You can't hide from both of us!" The tri-colour haired boy yelled loudly. "So save us a lot of effort and get out here!"

A low chuckle filled the area as a swirling shadow took form in front of them. Yubel and Haou simultaneously gripped their weapons, pushing out to the front of the group.

They watched, transfixed, as the shadow took on a humanoid form then peeled away. When it faded, it left a boy dressed in black and red in its wake.

"_Yusuke…."_ Fubuki whispered.

"So, you're Haou." Yusuke started conversationally. Said brunette frowned.

"I am." He said clearly. "What do you want?"

Yusuke frowned, an ugly grimace forming on his face. "You. Dead."

Haou smirked. "Like you could."

The amethyst-eyed boy didn't say anything, instead tapping his mask. More specifically, the gemstone from his pendant imbedded in the left eyehole. "I'm going to kill you. I don't care how I do it." He said quietly. "And you're going to let me. Wanna know why?"

Haou frowned. "Enlighten me, brat."

Yusuke laughed, a cold smirk making its way onto his face. Yubel tugged on Haou's sleeve, worry filling his eyes. "Haou, this is a _bad idea._" The raven muttered. "We should leave."

Haou pushed him off. "No." He said simply. "I won't."

"You wanna know why?" Yusuke yelled. "Here's why!" Shadow began pooling at his feet, writing into the ground a runic symbol. Haou frowned, then his eyes shot open as the rune sunk into the earth.

"What was that?" He yelled. Yusuke grinned.

"Wait for it…." He pointed over to Judai and Edo. "There." The symbol reappeared at the boy's feet, encircling them from the ground. The two automatically took steps closer together, watching Yusuke in shock.

"What are you doing?" Edo yelled. "Leave us out of this!"

Yusuke's grin widened. "No."

The symbol started glowing, enveloping the boys with a black and red light.

When it faded, Judai and Edo were gone.

**Me:…..wow. **

**That **_**failed**_**. **

**This one could have been so much better….**

**But there you have it. Spirits chapter 21. Fear. **

**Yeah….**

**Yubel: You sound tired and depressed.**

**Me: I am! Yesterday during HPE, our teacher's thought it would be a brilliant idea to make our ICE class full of computer nerds (Me and Lost-chan's class) verse a HPS class full of jocks that are all gonna end up in the Olympics and the Commonwealth games in modified dodgeball! **

**Yubel:….ouch. So, **_**how **_**badly did you lose?**

**Me: So badly that the other team had to take pity on us twice and change the rules so we stood a chance. After which we still lost. **

**Yubel: Wow. **

**Me: Shaddup. **

**Yubel: So wait. Why was Fubuki there without Ryo?**

**Me: Ah, yes. Fubuki left as a spirit and Ryo stayed as a solid with Jehu and Johan in case they woke up. The stronger the bond between the spirit and weapon, the further apart they can go. **

**Yubel: Oh, I get it! **

**Me: Anyway! Holidays! Yay! I think!**

**Yubel: You think?**

**Me: I do? I mean, I do! Anyway, please review the piece of crap that was this chapter! **

~Oak-chan


	25. Chapter 22: Payback

_Judai to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan))_

_[Ryo to Fubuki]_

_[[Fubuki to Ryo]]_

_/-Yubel thinking-/_

_Weapon to Spirit_

_Spirit to Weapon (This is going to act as the contact between Yusuke and Trueman for now, as well as Yusuke's own thoughts!_

_**Edo Thinking, Edo to Saiou and/or Edo's psychic trances**_

_***Saiou to Edo***_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body)" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

**Me: **_**Hellooooo **_**readers! Welcome to chapter twenty-two of **_**Spirits**_**! As my guest and co-host, we have:**

**Jehu: Yo.**

**Me: So. Where the hell are you? **

**Jehu: I'm fin- wait. **_**Where **_**the hell am I? Spirit Realm, duh.**

**Me: Of course you are. I **_**didn't **_**just forget that. Anyway, I've recently become obsessed with an anime/manga called **_**Nabari no Ou. **_**I'm probably not gonna write for it, but it's still awesome. I fully recommend it XD**

**Jehu: What's with the sales pitch? **

**Me: Online download! Not **_**buy**_**.**

**Jehu:….you bought it, didn't you?**

**Me…yes. *sobs* But it's soooo worth it! Yoite and Miharu are my favourites :3 It's so freaking obvious they love each other. Seriously. **

**Jehu: *mumbling* Fangirl…..Didn't that DVD cost like $56?**

**Me:…..yes. But it's worth it! Anyway, at the end of this chapter I have a few announcements I'd like you readers to take a look at! But, for now….. Jehu! The overly clichéd line!**

**Jehu….Right. Okay. *stares at script* ****Oak-chan would like to say that in this chapter, she'll refer to Yusuke as both Yusuke and Darkness, and she does not own YGO GX as much as she would like to. YGO GX and all related ****official**** storylines (not fanfics) belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Toei Animation, Naoyuki Kageyama, Masahiro Hikokubo, Satou Masashi, Konami, Studio Dice, etc. And although she refuses to acknowledge 4Kids in any way, she'll sic her three fave Spirits on anyone who tries to sue her. **

**Me: Yup. :3**

**Jehu:…..who're your three favourite spirits?**

**Me: You, Haou and Yubel! Anyway! Enjoy Chapter 22; **_**Payback! **_

_Chapter 22: Payback_

"_What are you doing?" Edo yelled. "Leave us out of this!"_

_Yusuke's grin widened. "No."_

_The symbol started glowing, enveloping the boys with a black and red light. _

_When it faded, Judai and Edo were gone. _

.:…:…:….:.

Yubel's dichromatic eyes shot wide open as his hand flew to his mouth in shock, dropping his dagger in the process. He honestly felt like he was going to be sick. "What have you done…?" He whispered. Yusuke's eyes widened while the irises and pupils shrank, and a chuckle managed to pass through his lips.

Haou was trembling. Not with fear. With _anger_. His eyes started glowing a bright gold reminiscent of the light used when he was transforming, and he roughly pulled his sword out of its sheath. "You bastard…" Haou growled. "You complete and utter bastard."

Yusuke tilted his head to the side, his lips spreading out into a full-blown grin. "So do I have your attention now…?" The darkness infused boy asked innocently.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Haou roared, disappearing in a huge flash of golden light. Yusuke's eyes flew open.

_He uses holy magic? _Was the only thought that flashed through Yusuke's mind as he desperately searched for the missing spirit. He calmed down a bit, eyes flickering in every direction. _Well, that's ironic. _

He saw a flash out of the corner of his eye, and spun around in time to see Haou stab the sword towards him. Yusuke clenched his eyes shut, and pulled up his hands to create a barrier out of shadow. Haou gritted his teeth as the blade clashed against the hardened shadow, and leapt back.

"You're annoying." Haou narrowed his eyes, while golden lights started encircling him. "That's why I'm going to enjoy killing you."

Yusuke grinned, pulling down the shadow shield. "That's what the other one said, too. The one with orange eyes." His eyes flew open as three of the lights shot towards him at incredible pace. The shield jumped in front of him again, blocking the attack. He peered out the side of the barrier, watching Haou. "Did I strike a nerve?"

"Shut up." Haou clenched his fist. "Just shut the hell UP!" He yelled, throwing his hand forward. The glow of the lights grew brighter, then they threw themselves at the shield. They all hit with a huge impact, but died out. The last light – the strongest one- clashed with the shadow, exploding and forcing the shadow to shrink. Haou's eyes widened.

_-So that's your weakness. - _He grinned. _–I can use light to make the shadow disappear. - _He made another ball of light and flung it at the shield. This one exploded as well, but it was a considerable amount weaker than the previous. The shadow grew larger, and Haou frowned. _–But the light has to be powerful; otherwise it'll just make more shadow. - _He rubbed his temple, watching the shadows pulsate as if they were alive. _–This is annoying. I can't underestimate him.-_

"Gonna hide behind there forever, Yusuke?" Haou shouted as the lights began to build up around him. "Come on out so I can kill you!"

The shadows began to melt away and Yusuke came into view. He raised an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten already?"

"Forgotten what?" Haou growled.

"Haou!" Yubel yelled from the sidelines. "He has Edo and Judai!" Haou's eyes narrowed.

_-Damnit, I forgot. -_ "Are you trying to use them as another shield?" Haou yelled. "So I won't attack you? Because it won't work!"

"Haou." Yusuke said calmly. "If you kill me, as long as I have Edo and Judai with me, I'll drag them down with me. You'll be killing them as well. And you can't fight this competition without a host."

Haou's eyes shot wide open. _–He…_

_-He's __**right**__. I can't kill him!-_

Yusuke smirked, watching as the spirit froze in the middle of the battlefield. "So you finally realise. You can't win. And if you get any funny ideas, just remember." He tapped the gem in the eye socket of the mask. "I can destroy their souls at any time. But for now..." He lifted his hand as the shadows began to build up at Haou's feet. "Let's have some fun, neh?"

.:…:…:….:.

_It's dark. _That was the first thought that crossed Judai's mind as he stared around the black, spherical enclosure he was trapped in. _It's dark and cold. It's like the shadow is drowning me. I feel like I'm-_

"Underwater… It feels like we're underwater." A voice behind him whispered, and Judai glanced back to see Edo. "Judai. Where are we?"

Judai shrugged, watching the cloudy red lines streak across the walls of their shadowy enclosure. "I don't know."

"Is this Darkness's doing?"

"I….I think so." Judai glanced down and gasped. "Look!" Edo knelt down beside him, watching the window into the outside world.

"What is this?"

"I think…. this is what Yusuke's seeing…." The brunette whispered. It looked like the outside world. It was the road they'd been stopped in. And they could see Yubel and Haou. The former was standing at the wall, looking nothing short of terrified. And Haou…

Edo and Judai's eyes bother widened in horror as they saw the darkness snake around Haou, slowly lifting him into the air, tentacles and shadowy thorns digging into his flesh. Then it began to squeeze.

Blood oozed out of new wounds, spreading across his clothes in crimson blossoms. Bright red life began to drip from Haou's lips and his eyes lost their glow.

Judai began to shake. "Oh my god…" He whispered. "Haou. Why isn't he fighting?" The brunette's voice rose to a yell. "Why isn't he fighting? He should be able to kill Yusuke, no sweat! So why isn't he fighting?"

"I don't know…" Edo whispered. "He could….so why…."

"_**He's not fighting because he can't." **_The cousins jumped slightly, jerking around to face the intruder. Two completely different emotions wrote themselves over their faces; Judai, confusion. Edo, fear.

"Who are you-?"

"Why are you here?" Edo yelled, grabbing a hold of Judai's hand. Judai flinched in shock, glancing at his cousin.

"Do you know him-?" He started to ask, but was cut off.

"_**I'm not here because I **__**want**__** to be." **_The newcomer grinned. _**"I got sucked in here along with you, little bird. I thought you were smart?"**_

"Edo!" Judai called. "Who is he?" Edo bit his lip.

"I….he…."

Saiou feigned surprise. _**"Oh, my. Didn't Edo tell you, boya? Well, that was rather cruel of him. Leaving one of his own blood in the dark like that." **_

"SHUT UP!" Edo yelled suddenly. Then he turned to Judai. "Judai, I'm sorry! I couldn't tell you! I wanted to, believe me, but I couldn-"

"_**Shut up." **_Saiou said coldly, pointing at Edo. The silver-haired boy's eyes widened as a sudden wave of pain shot through his body. He collapsed roughly, pain wracking his limbs. _**"Little bird. Learn your place."**_

"Edo?" Judai whispered, crawling to Edo's side. "Edo, are you okay?" He received a faint groan as his reply. The brunette immediately turned on Saiou. "Who the hell are you? And what gave you the right to just do that?"! He yelled.

Saiou raised an eyebrow. _**"My name is Takuma Saiou. You know me, don't you, boya?"**_

_Saiou_.

.:…:…:….:.

"_Are you trying to tell me," _Haou said eventually, _"That Saiou somehow managed to miraculously brainwash you and forced you to betray us." _ Jehu opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off. _"And the miraculous part is, Saiou was never recorded as a mind manipulator. He was a psychic, and could see into the future. Not unlike Edo. But despite that, he was never a mind manipulator." _

"_Well he lied!" _Jehu exploded. _"Because that's what happened!" _ Johan nodded, and Judai smiled weakly. Edo shrugged faintly.

Haou stared around the room in amazement. _"You believe him? You actually __**believe**__ him? He's a thief and a traitor! Didn't it ever occur to you that he had over five hundred years to fabricate a plausible excuse? And even so, __**that's**__ the best you could come with!" _

"Haou, calm down!" Judai tugged on his spirit's arm, and Haou immediately knocked him away.

"_No! It's just that this is so fucking ridiculous! Jehu, you are so lucky I'm in spirit form right now!" _Haou yelled.

"_Yeah? Well, fine! Don't believe me! It's not like it even matters!" _Jehu stood up, instantly riled up. _"I waited five hundred fucking years to tell you what happened, and you don't even give me a chance? Suddenly I'm starting to see why so many people hated you when we were alive! You never listen!" _

.:…:…:….:.

So _this _was Saiou.

"You…." Judai whispered. "You forced Jehu to betray Haou. It's your fault they hate each other."

Saiou blinked, then grinned. _**"When you put it that way, yes, I suppose I did. I did, and I am."**_

"You ruined everything…" His whisper rose to regular volume, and finally to a shout. "It's your fault! You ruined everything they had! Everything they were _going_ to have! They fucking _loved_ each other, and look what you did!" Judai yelled, anger getting the best of him. "Didn't you care about that?"

"_**No." **_Saiou said clearly. _**"No, I didn't. Why would I? Look at it from my point of view. A tyrannical king that could have invaded and destroyed our kingdom at any time, just like he did so many others. I'm suddenly presented with an opportunity to kill him, and take his kingdom for Ran-hime. Why wouldn't I? All's fair in love and war, boya." **_

He glanced down into the window, smiling as Haou coughed up blood. _**"But I did hate him. I still do, so much." **_His head shot up. _**"Did you know it was his troops that killed my sister, Mizuchi? And I still want revenge. But I want it myself. So as entertaining as this is, I can't let Haou die just yet." **_He smiled at Judai. _**"I'll send you back to the real world. But tell him. Tell Haou. He doesn't have long left in this world. This world or any world."**_

That's when everything went white.

.:…:…:….:.

"You know," Yusuke said conversationally, clenching his fist so the shadows wrapped around Haou tightened their grip. "It's kind of funny watching you like this. You look so freaking helpless. What the hell happened to the bastard that was completely in my face a few minutes ago?"

His only reply was a growl on Haou's end.

Yusuke chuckled dryly. "I honestly don't see what's so _great_ about you. I thought you were exceptionally powerful, or something like that. Wow, so much for that, huh?"

Haou growled again. _–This brat…. In a fair fight, he'd be dead by now! - _He cursed, never once taking his eyes off Yusuke.

"In fact, I-" Yusuke froze. "What's going on?" A bright blue light emanated from the gem in his mask, and with a yell he desperately clutched at it, trying to get the glow to fade. No such luck. The light moved away, forming two silhouettes on the ground. With a bright flash, the light disappeared, leaving Edo and Judai collapsed on the floor.

Yusuke and Yubel's eyes simultaneously shot open. "Wha- how?-" Yusuke was completely lost for words. Haou grinned.

"Yubel!" He roared. "Get them outta there!"

Yubel nodded, disappearing in an explosion of rose petals. He reappeared next to Edo and Judai and knelt down beside them, scooping the boys up in his arms. The raven shot Yusuke an arrogant smirk, then vanished in another blast of petals, reappearing next to Fubuki.

"_Are they okay?" _Fubuki whispered, instantly kneeling down at the boys' side. _"Edo, Judai?" _

Judai let out a groan, sitting upright. _"Damn," _He muttered, rubbing the back of his head. _"I don't wanna do that again."_

Yubel grinned and ruffled Judai's hair. "Good to see you're okay, kid." He joked before glancing down at Edo. "He alright?"

Judai glanced at his cousin, watching as Edo groaned a little. _"Yeah." _He looked up, staring at Haou, who was still entangled in the tentacle-like shadows. _"Haou!" _He yelled. _"We're okay! Kill him!" _

Haou grinned. "Best idea I've heard all day." He closed his eyes, letting himself be enveloped by golden light. When he opened them again, a bright ball of light that shone like a small sun was beating back the shadows, forcing them to slither away. Back to Yusuke. He pointed at the amethyst-eyed boy. "Ready to die?" The brunette whispered, raising his skyward as tiny points of gold light began to circle around him.

Yusuke took a step back. "No." He shook his head, refusing to believe what was happening. "No. This isn't right. I….you….No!" Darkness yelled the last part, swinging his arm upwards as a huge barrier of shadow burst out of the ground to shield him. A smile twitched on Haou's lips.

"Nice try, but that's not gonna help." Haou whispered, throwing his hand forward, forcing the lights to shoot forward as his trademark beams of golden light. "Take this!"

The shadow and the light clashed against each other, both at one point threatening to give, then pushing back against the other. Haou grit his teeth, giving one final push. The beam of light crashed on top of the shadow, destroying it and enveloping Yusuke.

With a blood-curdling yell, Yusuke slowly began to disintegrate. The amethyst boy's mouth hung open in a silent scream as he glanced back at Fubuki, his form as Darkness fading away, leaving just the scared schoolboy that was Fubuki's best friend. "Fubuki…." He whispered. "I'm sorry."

Then he was gone.

Fubuki fell to his knees, eyes wide in shock. _"Yusuke…." _He managed to choke out. _"He's….gone?"_

Haou shook his head, walking over to the pile of pendants Yusuke had left in his wake. "No." The golden-eyed spirit corrected, picking up the first of his prize. "I sent him back to the Spirit Realm."

Fubuki's eyes shot to Haou. _"Really?"_

The brunette nodded. "Yeah. It was clear that the boy regained his sanity right at the end. And on top of that, he was simply too powerful for me to just destroy. So he's back in the Spirit Realm."

Fubuki nodded. Judai glanced between the two spirits, then shrugged. _"Well, that's game!" _He grinned. _"Way to go, Haou!"_

Haou just nodded, picking up a certain pendant and holding it up to the light. It was like a chunk of crystal, and it shone a darkened version of every colour of the rainbow. A small smile graced his lips. _–Jehu.- _

He glanced at Judai, who was helping Edo stand up. "How'd you two get out of there, anyway?" He asked. Judai flinched, then turned to face Haou.

"_It was Saiou!" _The younger brunette yelled suddenly. _"It's true! Everything Jehu said was true!" _

Haou froze. "What?"

Edo pulled out of Judai's grip, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. "Saiou's my spirit, okay? He threatened to hurt me if I told you. He has. He made Jehu murder you. It's his fault."

Yubel's eyes widened. "Wh….what?"

Edo wiped at his eyes as tears began to fall, his shoulders shaking as he tried to hold back sobs. "I'm sorry!" He yelled, then ran away from the group, disappearing into the cluster of buildings.

"W-wait!" Yubel yelled after him. "EDO!"

Haou stood in shock. _–Jehu….._

_-…wasn't lying?-_

**Me: YEAH! That's chapter twenty-two! Haou finally sees the truth!**

**Jehu: It's about time.**

**Me: Yup! :3**

**Jehu: What was your big announcement?**

**Me: Ahh, yes! Firstly, **_**Spirits**_** is coming to a close, and **_**Operation; Matchmaker **_**won't take long either! Not long yet, folks! So, what do you guys want me to write afterwards? I'll throw out a few ideas.**

_**Kingdom; Enter The Twelve Dimensions**_

**It's the year 1945. Judai is a normal boy living in the countryside with his older brother, Haou, and their servant, Yubel, in a huge manor house with their parents on the outskirts of a scarcely populated town. Nothing's bad, but life's boring. Suddenly, the three's lives are turned completely upside down when they find the disappearing door in their house- and they're sucked into another world! With Haou immediately taken prisoner by the Temporary King of Dark World, Judai and Yubel have to find a way to save him, fast! Accompanied by Johan Anderson, a boy with a shady past and a secret to hide, and Edo Phoenix, a bounty hunter with a grudge, they'll have to find him quick – before it spells the end of every world there is!**

_**The Take-Over**_

**Set post-series. When Haou was 'killed', he lost everything. His kingdom, his power, his respect. Now Dark World is under the rule of Amon Garam – of all people! So now Haou's on a quest to regain his throne at the top. However, this may be easier said than done with the ever-mischievous Yubel tagging along, and just who the hell is Jehu Ralleigh? And **_**no, **_**Haou's not falling in love…. Is he? **

_**Knights of Light Society (Could be considered a sequel to 'Kingdom', but should run smoothly on it's own with a 'lil tweaking)**_

**What happens when you get a human-turned-seraph from a completely different world, a werewolf with a love for hunting demons and an Altarian bounty hunter that loves money more than anything else and send them on a quest? In the case of Judai, Johan and Edo, there's a glaring lack of fellowship. Join this band of misfits as they travel the worlds in search of the three treasures, running into all sorts of trouble along the way! Witches, demons and fairies – oh god. What's gonna happen now? Will the three even survive? And just be careful what you eat…. Because there's always something out there ready to eat **_**you**_**. **

**Me: Well, those are the three ideas! Also, a Halloween special might pop up as well. I'll be putting a poll up on my page, so please vote!**

**Jehu: And please review! She *points to me* can't live without them!**

**Me: Yup! Until next chapter! *waves***

~Oak-chan


	26. Chapter 23: Apology Accepted?

_Judai to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan))_

_[Ryo to Fubuki]_

_[[Fubuki to Ryo]]_

_/-Yubel thinking-/_

_Weapon to Spirit_

_Spirit to Weapon_

_**Edo Thinking, Edo to Saiou and/or Edo's psychic trances**_

_***Saiou to Edo***_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body)" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

**Me: Why, hello, readers! Well, looking at my little poll, it seems that so far the most popular choice is **_**The Take-Over**_**! Good, that was my favourite too. Well, the poll's open until I've finished **_**Spirits**_**, but at the rate this is going that's the one I'll be working on. I'll come up with some new ideas and get you guys to pick from those ones to replace **_**Operation; Matchmaker **_**as well**_**. **_**Anyway, here's our co-host...s. Co-Hosts!**

**Judai: Hey.**

**Johan: 'Sup?**

**Me: Well, we've had our first complaint. The readers want more Spiritshipping. I don't blame them. Never fear; there will be Spiritshipping!...along with the **_**slightest **_**hint of PossessShipping (JohanxJehu). *Stares at crowd in disbelief* What? What? **

**Judai: So, what, we don't get a choice in the matter?**

**Me: No, you don't.**

**Johan: That seems kinda unfair.**

**Me: I don't care. **

**Judai: Then you're a jerk. Like Haou.**

**Me: Well, that's mean.**

**Johan: And knock it off with the three-word replies.**

**Me: No, make me. **

**Johan and Judai: *simultaneously whack me on the head* **

**Me: Oww! *muttering* **_**Why do almost all the co-hosts hit me….? **_**Oh, and yes, I **_**know**_** I should be working on **_**Operation; Matchmaker **_**but I really, really, really, **_**REALLY**___**wanted to work on this chapter. **

**Johan: Fair enough.**

**Me: Yup! Well, one of you do the overly clichéd line.**

**Judai: Oak-chan does not own YGO GX as much as she would like to!**

**Johan: YGO GX and all related ****official**** storylines (not fanfics) belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Toei Animation, Naoyuki Kageyama, Masahiro Hikokubo, Satou Masashi, Konami, Studio Dice, etc!**

**Judai: And although she refuses to acknowledge 4Kids in any way….**

**Johan: You'll have to live in a bomb shelter to hide from her wrath if you try to sue her!**

**Me: Aww, wasn't that cute? Anyway, please enjoy the chapter!**

_Chapter 23: Apology Accepted?_

"_Are you sure you're okay?" _Jehu asked worriedly, glancing down at the boy in his arms. Johan was against his side, leaning into the older spirit with a content expression on his face.

"Yes. I'm fine." Johan smiled, gripping at Jehu's hand, which was currently clenched tightly around his own. "Stop worrying so much."

Jehu sighed, looking away. _"Sorry. I can't help it, y'know? I really can't stand the thought of you being hurt." _He grinned, but Johan couldn't see it. _"Johan?"_

"Hmm?" The younger blunette glanced up at Jehu, curiosity filling his bright emerald green eyes.

Jehu smirked. _"You're so cute…. I swear, if I'd never met Haou, I'd probably have fallen in love with you." _

Johan blushed lightly, but didn't really let it bother him. Jehu said stuff like that a lot, and he got the feeling that in the right circumstances, he would've fallen for Jehu as well. But at that point, Jehu was… not like a brother, or a lover, or even a best friend, but someone just as important as any of those. He was just _Jehu_.

Johan stared up at Jehu, the smile reappearing on his face. "Should we go back to the real world?"

Jehu nodded. _"Yeah." _

The scenery around them started fading. Johan shut his eyes tightly closed, noticing the sudden lack of warmth around him. Jehu had been reabsorbed into his mind. He tried calling the spirit, but when he got no response he realised Jehu had fallen asleep.

Johan opened his eyes, then sat up. "Where am I….?" He murmured.

Ryo looked over from his seat on the couch opposite him. "Morning." He said boredly, then turned back to his paper.

.:…:…:….:.

"So that's what happened," Johan murmured, taking a sip of the hot chocolate Ryo had given him. "I see." He stared up at the blunette, emerald green eyes soft. "I'm sorry you had to go to so much effort to do this for me."

Ryo scoffed, almost choking on his hot chocolate. "Are you serious? Jehu saved Fubuki. And on top of that, I couldn't just leave you to bleed to death, could I?"

Johan glanced to the side. "I suppose. Still, thank you."

With a yawn, Jehu faded into the real world. _"Yo. 'Mornin." _He stretched, then sniffed the air. _"Is that hot chocolate?" _Johan nodded, and suddenly Jehu was by his side, staring down into the mug with an expression reminiscent of a puppy dog begging for just a scrap of the roast chicken on his face.

Johan laughed. "No, this is mine!" He smiled. "This must be the latest you've ever slept in. It's," He glanced at the display on the microwave. "A bit past eleven."

Jehu pouted, then reverted to his serious demeanour. _"Are you okay, Jo-chan?" _

The younger blunette nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine, I think."

Suddenly, a knock came at the door. Ryo stood up, then walked over to answer it. "Fubuki." He smiled, then glanced behind the brunette. "Haou. Judai. Uhh….Yubel?"

The three nodded, then stepped inside the apartment. Johan looked up, then sent a small smile Judai's way. He placed the hot chocolate on the coffee table, then stood up and held up his hand in greeting. "Hey."

Judai stared at Johan for a second, then took a shaky step towards him. "Johan…" He whispered. "JOHAN!" He rushed forward and glomped Johan, effectively knocking him over and forcing them to land awkwardly on the couch. "You're okay! I was so worried!" The chocolatey-eyed weapon gushed, hugging Johan tightly. Then he froze, staring at Johan. He pulled away horror filling his eyes. "Oh no, you're hurt, aren't you? I didn't hurt you, right? I'm sorry!"

Johan laughed a little, ruffling Judai's hair. "I'm fine, Judai. Really." Judai sniffed, tears welling up in his eyes. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Johan again.

"Thank god…" The brunette whispered. "I thought…. I didn't know _what _to think…." Johan hugged him back, smiling softly.

"It's okay. I'm okay now." He muttered, letting Judai snuggle into him. "Don't cry."

Jehu looked away, a mischievous glint appearing in his amber eyes. _"Wow… I feel like we should leave 'em alone or something." _

Ryo, Fubuki and Yubel laughed a little, then a little harder when Johan reached over and whacked Jehu upside the head. The older blunette cussed, rubbing his head. When he glanced up, he locked eyes with Haou.

Dull gold met glowing amber, and the two turned away from each other. Jehu folded his arms, leaning against the couch with his eyes closed; his vibe screaming 'I don't want to talk to or see you.' Haou glanced at Fubuki, who nodded with a grin. The brunette sighed, then walked over to Jehu, reaching into his pocket.

"_Jehu?" _He called softly, and Jehu bristled.

"_What do you want?" _He mumbled. Judai and Johan looked over with interest.

Haou smirked and made his way over to behind the couch. _"Open your eyes." _Jehu did as he was instructed, and as soon as he did Haou dropped his pendant into his line of view, keeping a firm hold of the chain.

Jehu's eyes bugged when he took in the sight of _his_ darkened rainbow-coloured chunk of crystal. _"Wh….what?" _He yelled, spinning around to face Haou, now sitting on his knees. "_That's mine!" _

Haou laughed, jerking the pendant up. He held it in front of the spirit teasingly, a victorious smirk decorating his face. _"No it's not, because if I recall correctly, you lost to Yusuke. And since I beat him, now it's __**mine**__." _

Jehu felt his eye twitch. _"What."_

"_You heard me." _Haou chuckled dryly, which sent Jehu over the edge. The spirit pushed himself over the top of the couch, landing neatly in front of Haou.

Haou blinked. _–How did that happen?- _He thought softly.

Jehu growled slightly, staring Haou straight in the eye. _"What the hell do you want?" _He repeated. _"Don't tell me you're just here to gloat."_

Haou blushed slightly, staring at the ground while he let his arm drop to his side. _"I'm sorry." _He mumbled. Jehu froze. Because unless his hearing was _seriously_ playing up, Haou had just….

"_Wh-what?" _He whispered hoarsely. _"What did you say…?"_

Haou's blush just deepened. _"I said, I'm sorry!" _He yelled. _"I'm sorry, okay? I should have believed you! It was stupid of me not to! When we were alive you were my best friend and I didn't listen to you, and I'm sorry! Okay? I'm sorry!" _

Jehu just stood totally still in complete and utter shock. Then a smile broke out on his face, and he reached forward and pulled Haou into his arms. _"….thanks." _He whispered. _"That means a lot. So, this mean we're friends again?"_

Haou nodded slightly, burying himself in Jehu's embrace. He smiled softly, taking in the warmth. _"Yeah." _

The onlookers smiled softly. "Well…." Johan whispered into Judai's ear. "…it's about time."

Judai nodded. "Tell me about it."

Jehu held Haou a little longer, then his soft smile morphed into a smirk. The smirk that meant he was planning something. _"Nnn, Haou-chan?" _Haou glanced up.

"_Yeah?" _

Jehu grinned, then cupped Haou's face and brought it up so they locked lips. Haou's eyes widened as Jehu licked at his lips, then slid his tongue through into his mouth. He smirked all the while as Haou just stood completely still in shock.

"_Aww…"_ Fubuki whispered, grinning at Ryo. _"That's so cute." _

Just when it seemed like Haou was going to start kissing back, the brunette placed his hands against Jehu's chest and roughly pushed him away. _"You…" _He growled, bringing his fist back while Jehu blinked. _"RETARD!" _Haou yelled, swinging his arm forward and punching Jehu in the jaw. A sickening _crack_ing noise filled the room as Jehu flew back and crashed into the wall.

Johan, Judai, Fubuki and Ryo just stood in shock, staring at the mass of painful convulsions that was Jehu. Haou turned away, desperately trying to regain his cool, calm demeanour. Then Yubel burst out laughing.

"Damn!" He chortled, wiping tears out of his eyes. "I haven't seen _that_ for a long time!"

Judai glanced at Haou. "You mean that happened a lot?"

Yubel nodded. "Only _all the time_." He blinked a little. "Well, I think this is a good thing. Apparently Haou shows affection by beating the crap out of anyone he likes."

Haou's eye twitch. _"I'm still in the room, y'know." _

Johan, who'd walked over to Jehu's side, knelt by the spirit. He shook his head. "Apparently that's not the way you go." He mumbled. "Try something new." Jehu only responded by grinning when he got back up.

"_Well, it's good to see things are back to normal." _He said nonchalantly, stretching out. A few more cracking noises filled the room, resulting in everyone wincing.

Ryo shook his head, sighing. "Normal? How the hell did I get mixed up with you guys?"

Haou waited a few seconds for his blush to die down then turned back to the mix of spirits and weapons. _"Well, we know for sure Saiou's in the game and on Earth." _He said casually, sparing Jehu a glance to see his reaction.

Jehu's eyes widened. _"What?" _He growled, fury filling his eyes. _"He's dead. Where the hell is he, I'm going to fucking kill him!" _He yelled. _"Haou!" _

Haou ignored him, opting to continue what he was saying. _"We also know he's Edo's spirit. So he just have to find Edo, and we'll find Saiou." _

Yubel nodded. "I'm in on this one. I wanna kill him."

Haou smirked. _"So it's settled then. The three of us will team up to kill him." _

Jehu blinked in shock, then a grin broke out on his face. _"Sound like a plan." _

"So now we just need to find Edo." Judai grinned, pulling out his phone. "How hard can it be?"

.:…:…:….:.

"I get it." Rei sighed, staring at Edo sadly. "So what's Saiou doing now?"

Edo shook his head. "I don't know." He whispered. The boy looked awful. Usually Edo was neat and radiating confidence. Now he just looked like a total wreck. Tearstains were running down his face, and his eyes just looked dead. "Thanks for this, Rei. Really."

Rei smiled softly, standing up. "That's fine. You know you can come here if you ever need anything." She picked up the mugs, now filled with hot chocolate, and placed them on the table. "So, what are you going to do now?"

Edo shrugged, staring at the mug in his hands. He took a tentative sip, shaking his head. "I don't know that, either. This is stupid. Normally I know what to do. Now I'm just totally lost."

Asuka appeared in the chair beside Edo, smiling sympathetically. _"You'll be fine, Edo."_ She placed a translucent hand on his back. _"I think you should just let Haou and the others deal with this."_

Edo let out a hollow laugh. "So, what, you want me to go over there and let them rip him apart?"

Rei nodded. "Well, yes."

The silver-haired boy just laughed again. "If I try he'll just hurt me again." Asuka frowned, then stood up, letting the chair fall to the ground with the clatter.

"_Okay, that does it. Get up." _She demanded, grabbing Edo by the wrist and pulling him up. _"No more negativity. No more crying. And no more hiding." _Rei stood up as well.

"Asuka's right. We're going to find the others. Haou can decide what to do with him. It might not be pretty, but hopefully Saiou will be out of your hair." The ravenette declared. "Let's go. Judai's house. Now."

Edo just stared at the two girls, then shook his head slowly. "I don't know about this, you guys…" He mumbled. Rei rolled her eyes, then grabbed Edo's other arm.

"We do. Some genius you are." She fished her mobile phone out of her jacket pocket, then hit speed-dial. She let go of Edo, then walked off into the adjoining kitchen. "Hey, Judai?"

Edo paled. "What are you doing?" Rei ignored him.

"Yah-huh, Edo's here. Cool. We'll meet you there." She hung up, then turned back to Asuka and Edo with a sparkle in her eyes. "Jehu, Haou and Yubel agreed to team up for this." She said excitedly. "Haou and Jehu are okay again!"

Asuka unintentionally let out a fangirlish squeal. Then she blushed when Edo stared at her. _"What? I'm a yaoi fangirl. Sue me." _She mumbled, then turned back to Rei. _"So, what's happening?"_

Rei smiled, her lips twisting into an uncharacteristically sadistic grin. "We're going to the abandoned train station." She answered, placing her phone back into her pocket. "We've got ourselves a showdown."

**Dun-Dun-Yawn-Dun! So, yes! I know this failed! I did most of it in the middle of last night and only just came here today to do this stupid note! But okay! And now for our traditional string of random questions that disappeared over the last few chapters!**

**Who's going to win? Yubel, Haou and Jehu or Saiou? Will this be bloody? Messy? Will there be DarkSpiritshipping by the time this is over? Is Edo okay? Are Rei and Asuka OOC? And most importantly….**

**Should I have steak, bacon and cheese pie or noodles for lunch?**

**It's been a relatively good run for **_**Spirits **_**this school holidays. What, three updates in roughly two weeks? But school's starting again on Monday (or is it Tuesday? -_-), so updates might be fail again. Please bear with me. Especially if you wanted it to be **_**Operation; Matchmaker**_** that was updated, not this. **

**Well, please review. I know this failed, and that it's a lame climax, but next chapter's the one YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR (or not)! Yubel, Haou and Jehu vs. Saiou! Place your bets and bring your popcorn! And most importantly, thank you for reading you guys!**

~Oak-chan


	27. Chapter 24: Revenge of the Spirits!

_Judai to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan))_

_[Ryo to Fubuki]_

_[[Fubuki to Ryo]]_

_/-Yubel thinking-/_

_Weapon to Spirit_

_Spirit to Weapon_

_**Edo Thinking, Edo to Saiou and/or Edo's psychic trances**_

_***Saiou to Edo***_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body)" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

**Me:…..here we go.**

**Haou: *bored* You sound depressed.**

**Me: I am. There's only roughly four or five chapters until this is over.**

**Haou: As long as Saiou ends up destroyed, I could really care less.**

**Me: . Right. Well, school's back in. I seriously have no idea what we're doing in ETF class because I don't pay attention…. I write…..and write….and end up like a zombie…. Then fall asleep at roughly 1:30 PM because of insomnia…. Then get up at 5:30 AM…. Same old, same old. I'm slowly falling back into routine. So, no sweat! *Thumbs up***

**Haou:…and I'm supposed to feel sorry for you?**

**Me: You are such a jerk. I hope you die. Again.**

**Haou:...**

**Me: Anyway …can't finish sentences properly…sorry if this sucks…..overly clichéd line?**

**Haou:…Oak-chan does not own YGO GX as much as she would like to. YGO GX and all related ****official**** storylines (not fanfics) belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Toei Animation, Naoyuki Kageyama, Masahiro Hikokubo, Satou Masashi, Konami, Studio Dice, etc. And although she refuses to acknowledge 4Kids in any way, she'll…. Well, she's too tired to really do anything at this point, but she'll find **_**something**_**. Also, I should probably mention….it gets pretty violent towards the end of the chapter. **

**Me:…thanks…Zzzz…..Zzzz….Zzzz….**

**Haou: *whacks me***

**Me: Huh! ….oh. Right. On with the chapter...yeah. **

_Chapter 24: Showdown! Revenge of the Fallen Spirits!_

The abandoned train station in Domino City wasn't the most pleasant place to be. It was always deserted, cold and quiet, with cracked walls and broken glass smashed all over the ground. Torn papers blew around in the frigid winter wind and there was rubbish everywhere. No-one in their right minds would go there.

Which is exactly why it was perfect.

Yubel glanced around the station, looking for any form of human life. When he found the place was deserted he stepped in and motioned for the others to follow.

"This place is disgusting!" He complained, sidestepping a half-eaten and rather mouldy hamburger someone had obviously decided they didn't like. "There aren't even any rats here. That's how disgusting it is."

"Really?" Jehu blinked, glancing around the train station. "It's not really that much worse than what the Dark Scorpions lived in."

Haou shot him a withering glare. "Then you should find yourself right at home, shouldn't you?" He grumbled, pulling the jacket he'd borrowed off Ryo further around his body. Considering just how much taller than him Ryo actually was, the jacket was way too big and reached roughly just above his knees. Jehu had said he looked adorable. Haou had responded by whacking him upside the head.

Jehu scowled, crossing his arms. He'd also borrowed a jacket off Ryo; Johan's was completely and utterly bloodstained, not to mention blue, so the lovely brownish-red splotches of dried blood showed up quite a lot. Unlike Haou, however, this jacket actually fit him. Well, sort of.

"_Knock it off."_ Ryo said clearly. He was honestly getting sick of the three spirits' constant complaining. Apparently the modern world was god-awful, pointless, filthy, uncivilised and the only good thing it had ever come out with was television. (And hot chocolate, though Jehu stood alone on that point)

Haou rolled his eyes. "Sure." He replied sarcastically. "Because I _always_ pay attention to what you tell me to do."

Trailing behind the four, and totally ignoring them, was Fubuki, Johan and Judai. "I don't _believe_ you." Fubuki said, wide-eyed. "I do not. That's not and/or should not be possible. You two are _fifteen_, for crying out loud!"

"_Well, sor-ry for never having had a girlfriend!" _Judai huffed, crossing his arms. _"It never appealed to me."_

Johan glanced at Judai before nodding. _"My argument exactly." _He shrugged. _"'Sides, I didn't have time for it with studying 'n' all."_

Fubuki shook his head solemnly, as if this was the saddest thing he'd ever heard. "You two are just pathetic." He sighed. "Please tell me you've both at _least_ kissed someone before!" Then he cut in while Judai opened his mouth; "And the thing with Yubel doesn't count." Judai closed his mouth again.

Suddenly, Fubuki was struck by a 'brilliant' idea! "You two should totally go out!"

Cue Johan and Judai double-take.

Over with Haou, Jehu, Yubel and Ryo, the spirits had found yet _another_ thing they hated about the modern world.

"I swear that thing moved." Jehu deadpanned, staring down at aforementioned mouldy half-eaten hamburger. He poked it tentatively with his foot. The burger twitched, and out of the bun scuttled a giant cockroach.

"Oh, god." Yubel placed his hand over his mouth and gagged. "I think I'm gonna be _sick_."

"Hey, you guys!" The seven glanced over to the source of the yell. Waving at them with a huge grin on her face was Rei. Behind her trailed Edo and Asuka, the former looking like he'd just fallen into a pool of misery and despair.

"Phoenix." Haou said coldly. "I see you've decided to join us."

Edo looked away, a frown marring his face. "You will not mention what happened earlier." He stated clearly. "And if when this is over I find myself missing a limb, I know whose fault it's going to be."

He caught Jehu's eye and sent a glare the spirit's way. The blunette responded with a wave, then got straight down to business. "Where's Saiou?"

Edo turned back to face the spirits, his eyes no longer the usual shade of steely blue. "Right here." He smirked. "Long time no see, King, Rose, Thief." Jehu automatically bristled and made to move forward, but was stopped when Haou held his arm out in front of him.

"Don't move." The brunette muttered, then turned back to Saiou. "You." Haou said clearly. "Are dead." He glanced back at Yubel and Jehu. "Ready?"

"Born ready." Jehu said clearly; the idiotic man pointing out faults with the world and laughing over the ridiculous points Yubel and Fubuki had brought up on the way was gone. "Bell?"

"Don't call me that_._" Yubel shot a pointed glare at Jehu, then nodded. "Ready."

Saiou smirked. And four bright lights erupted in the arena.

.:…:…:…:…:.

_Run!_

The voice in Sho's head urged, compelling him to run faster.

_Run faster! We're nearly there!_

It was getting louder, more desperate. _Please, hurry! We'll miss it!_

_What are we going to miss?_

_The battle…. We're going to miss the battle!_

The voice yelled as Sho turned the corner. Why was he going to the abandoned train station? That place was disgusting, and the voice –his spirit– had suddenly woken up after being asleep for so long and said something about a battle. What was going on?

_Are you going to fight? _Sho asked softly. He knew about spirit fights, of course, but the voice hadn't asked to take part in any. He'd been instructed to hide his symbol and lie low. The voice didn't want anything to do with battles. But now…

_No. Not if I can help it _The voice answered almost instantly. _I just want to see what happens._

They were at the train station now. Sho creeped inside the station, then peered around. He let out a small squeak as four bright glows shone out of nowhere, filling the station with light. Four lights. Gold, silver, darkened rainbow and a bluish-white.

When the lights faded, there were four people standing there. The first, a figure in black and gold armour with a flowing red cape… From a distance it looked almost like….

"Judai?"

The tiny blunette frowned, then looked for anyone else in the arena. Oh, there. Next to the armoured boy that looked like Judai. A man decked out in a dark blue and black outfit, and he looked like… Sho's frown deepened. That man looked like an older version of the transfer student, Johan. Directly to the right of the Johan-lookalike was another man, dressed in black and purple with two gothic demon wings protruding from his back.

In the back were two teenagers, both dressed in similar blue and white outfits, but one was a blonde girl and the other was a brunet boy. They looked related.

On the other side, facing off against the five spirits, was someone that Sho couldn't really find the words to describe. Eventually he settled with beautiful and malicious, though that was a rather loose-fitting of the man.

_Saiou. _The voice said knowledgeably. _That is Takuma Saiou. _Sho glanced to the three spirits at the front. _Those three are Haou Karakuri, Jehu Ralleigh and Yubel Daia. Those are his opponents. The other two are most likely just there to watch._

Sho blinked. "Where are the weapons?" He glanced to the side. There they were. Sho's eyes widened in shock.

"N…Nii-san!" He stuttered. "A-and…Judai! And Rei-chan, and Edo, and Johan! What's going on here?"

_Quiet. _The voice demanded. _They'll hear you._

_…_

Sho stayed quiet. But he had a bad feeling as to where this was going.

.:…:…:…:…:.

"So you're going to challenge me." Saiou's line of vision flitted from to Haou to Jehu, then Yubel. "Fools." His eyes finally locked on Jehu, and a cold smile graced his lips. "Are you sure you can trust the thief? He might just betray you again. Well, Thief?"

Jehu twitched, fingers tapping the hilt of one of the katana at his side to distract him from Saiou's taunts. "Shut up…" He mumbled. "Shut…._up_…"

Saiou raised an eyebrow. "Very well." Several points of light encircled him, not unlike the ones Haou used, except these were blue, not gold. "DIE!" The points shot forwards, growing into huge beams of blue-white light.

Jehu's eyes narrowed and he flung his arms up, forcing a row of giant crystals to shoot out of the ground. The light blasted into the crystal, but wasn't strong enough to break through it. Saiou growled as the crystals sunk back into the ground.

"Uh-uh-uhh," Jehu waggled his finger teasingly as Saiou's eyes shot wide open.

"Where did the other two go?" Yubel and Haou had vanished, leaving just Jehu. The blunette wordlessly pointed behind Saiou, who spun around to see Yubel standing about two metres away from him.

The dichromatic-eyed spirit smiled sweetly, then pointed at Saiou. A huge rose tentacle covered in giant thorns shot out of the ground near Saiou's feet, then started to wrap around his body. Saiou let out a yell as the thorns mercilessly dug into his flesh; glistening crimson liquid gushed out of his body and spilled onto the ground. "You might've been able to beat _one _of us…" Yubel's smile was quickly replaced with an evil grin as the thorns dug further into his body.

"…but not all three of us!" Saiou couldn't even glance behind him as Jehu shot forward and slammed a katana into his stomach. The spirit's eyes bugged considerably as Jehu pushed the blade right through his body; thrusting it into him so his arm actually went through his stomach and broke through the flesh on the other side.

Yubel flinched as the katana appeared, breaking through flesh and appearing, covered in blood. Even Jehu's arm had been pushed right into Saiou, and the blade had hooked onto had looked like an intestine. Jehu let out a growl and pulled his arm back out, covered in blood and guts. "_Eww…._" He muttered, wiping some of it off onto his pant leg.

Saiou was in a state of shock, in such deep pain that he could barely feel it. "Uh…..uhh….." He could see Haou now; the brunette was nearing him, sword drawn and an evil grin on his face.

"Well, at first I wanted to do this to Jehu…" Haou started to explain as he shoved the sword into Saiou, just above the hole that Jehu had created, then started to twist. "…but this is way more satisfying." Blood mercilessly gushed onto the floor, pooling at Haou's feet.

The brunette stepped slightly to the side to let Yubel stand beside him, and they both looked up at the man that had so nonchalantly ordered their deaths. Yubel lifted the dagger, then wordlessly shoved it into Saiou's eye, nowhere near deep enough to kill him, but deep enough to be able to rip it out of its socket when he wrenched his blade out.

Saiou screamed in pain as Haou sliced his hand right off his arm. The spirit let out another bloodcurdling scream as Jehu appeared behind him.

"Music to my ears." A feral smirk typical of Jehu appeared on his face as he grabbed Saiou's other hand and ripped it off. "Fun, neh, Saiou?"

Haou wordlessly pointed at Saiou, a point of light appearing at his fingertip. "Game over." The sun-eyed spirit declared as a huge beam of light shot forward and slammed through him, creating a gaping hole in Saiou.

The spirit stared at the three he'd had mercilessly killed, then his eyes fell shut.

Not dead. Completely and utterly destroyed.

A glow of bluish-white light engulfed his body, and when it faded it left Edo in his place, looking shocked but otherwise unharmed. "Uhh…." He blinked, staring at his hands and flexed his fingers experimentally. Then he turned to Haou, Yubel and Jehu, steely-grey eyes filled with shock. "You…"

Jehu blinked, and instantly the feral, bloodthirsty monster he'd been just a few seconds was replaced with his usual self. "Well, that was fun~!" He grinned, then went to hug Haou. "Right, Haou-chan?" Haou's eyes narrowed and he pushed Jehu off.

"Knock it off."

Johan and Judai stood to the side, eyes widened in shock. _"Haou…" _The brunette whispered, staring at his spirit lookalike in horror. "_You…..that was…." _Haou blinked, then turned to face Judai, having picked up a bloodstained pendant; a white star that glowed with an ethereal blue light.

Then, he simply said; "I win." He blinked again, then glanced back at Jehu and Yubel.

"No." He amended, smiling back at his two friends. "_We _win."

***gasps, then collapses on floor in a little heap* It's done! Done I say! DONE! The chapter is finally finished! (Did you think I meant the story?) *Laughs evilly* That was sooo much fun! But I can't help but get the feeling it was rather graphic. Meh. I wanted to write a graphic fight scene. So yah~! **

**Well, it's late. I know. I'm sorry. *Hangs head in shame* I've been totally caught up writing original stuff and playing Kingdom Hearts and TWEWY. Please don't kill me! And, who do you think Sho's spirit is? Mwa-ha!**

**Everyone who reviewed last time, thank you~! I appreciated it! And, I have to admit…. There isn't long left until **_**Spirits**_** is over. I'd say…..three to five chapters. Both it and I have come a long way, and it's all thanks to you guys! **

**Please review, you guys! Even if it's to tell me how late I was! I'd love to see what you thought! Even if you've only read and never reviewed I'd still love your opinion! And the more reviews the quicker I feel obligated to review! Thanks for sticking with me, you guys!**

~Oak-chan


	28. OMAKE: Royal Blood and Rain

**Me: Hello, and **_**welcome to**_**…**

**Haou: -The first update of anything in forever.**

**Me: *pouts* Yeah, well, I HAVE AN EXCUSE!**

**Haou: Oh, yeah?**

**Me: Yeah! I was on holiday! In Hawaii! **

**Haou:…..what about before and after that?**

**Me:….shut up.**

**Haou: You haven't updated anything in forever. **_**Operation; Matchmaker**_** is kind of dying.**

**Me: Yeah, well, I don't want to rush it! I've temporarily lost my funny bone, and I don't want to write it and have it not funny. So, please bear with me! DX**

**Haou:…..how do you lose your funny bone?**

**Me: I didn't **_**lose **_**it, per se, I just….temporarily misplaced it. I think it's probably going to end up in my locker or something.**

**Haou:….*silence***

**Me: Anyway! Another Omake, in case you were wondering about the lack of communication majiggies at the top. So, please enjoy both the chapter and the lack of disclaimers, because I'm pretty sure that you get that I don't own GX by now.**

**Haou:…..**

**Me: Oh, and this omake is a special one! It's a flash of Jehu's life before the palace, leading right up to when he met Haou! IT'S FANSERVICE, PEOPLE! **

**Haou:….*reading over script*…this is fanservice?**

**Me: Apparently. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!...thing.**

_Omake: Royal Blood and Rain_

It was cold. And it was raining.

Younger, softer amber eyes stared up at the sky as the heavens unleashed a torrential shower of water down upon him. He was drenched, and to make matters worse, his shoulder was bleeding. Crimson red life gushed down his arm, huge jabs of pain erupting from where he'd managed to pull the dagger out.

It was raining. And it was cold.

Huge gusts of wind bashed against him, threatening to lift him off the ground and blow him away. He managed to hold his ground, desperately gripping at one of the slightly dislodged stones in the wall that he'd been using to support himself.

It hurt.

An eleven year old Jehu Ralleigh grit his teeth, cursing his life and trying to ignore the salty tears pouring down his face. He was eleven. He was too old to cry.

So why was he crying?

A huge crash filled the area, causing the boy to jump in shock. Thunder and lightning shot across the darkened sky, and the yells of the people around him were making his ears hurt.

Why couldn't they shut up?

The people that were managing to fight against the wind were grabbing their families and pulling them into some sort of a stone shelter, safe from the vicious wind and rain. They wanted to make sure they were all safe. That they were all together.

No-one was trying to make sure he was safe. No-one was trying to drag him to the shelter.

He didn't have anyone.

Jehu shuddered, slowly edging forward as men, stronger and heavier than he was, rushed up and down the dirt road, yelling something about making a windbreak.

They were trying. It wasn't working.

Whatever it was powering this near-unstoppable force of nature was simply knocking down the men's feeble attempts at a windbreak. It knocked down the wood and stones that had been desperately pieced together before they could even begin to form anything.

The blunet stepped forward again, slowly getting closer to the men. Soon, he was amongst them, no longer leaning against the wall, and properly able to watch what they were doing.

Someone crashed into him, and Jehu fell to his knees, but no-one tried to help him up. Why would they? He was an orphan boy. Did it matter if he died, if it meant their own children were safe?

No. It didn't.

Jehu, hazy with disorientation, stared up at the men rushing all around him. "Wait…" He managed to whisper, as someone finally grabbed his arm and wrenched him to his feet, yelling about the boy needing to stay out of the way. "Please…..I can help…"

The man stared at Jehu in disbelief, then gently threw him to the wall, so as to guide himself to the shelter. Jehu placed his hand on the wall, then closed his eyes.

He concentrated.

There was a spark, beginning at his fingertips, sending an odd sensation throughout his body. It felt like heat, but the much-needed warmth quickly morphed into a chill. Jehu shivered, but he didn't stop.

Then the screams started.

When Jehu reopened his eyes, a wall of crystal was shooting up from the ground, creating a huge barrier between the buildings to stop the wind. Each crystal shone a different colour of the rainbow, albeit a darker, and more malicious, shade.

When the crystal wall stopped growing, all was silent, save for the howling of the wind rushing overhead. Then one of the men reached out to touch it.

As soon as he touched the crystal he flinched, as if expecting something to occur.

Nothing happened.

The crystal stood strong, barely letting a sliver of the wind through.

Jehu had created a windbreak in seconds, while the men had failed to do it at all.

He wasn't thanked.

People stared at him in horror, and whispers passed through the crowd.

"He….. He's one of _them_…."

"A…..a cursed one?"

Jehu looked up, staring at them with hazy amber eyes. More shock rippled through the mob.

"See? Even his eyes are inhuman!"

"Look at him! He's a demon!"

"Devil-worshipper!"

Jehu didn't understand why these people were so angry at him. He didn't worship any devil that he knew of. He wasn't a demon. He was just him. He'd been able to create crystal for as long as he could remember.

When people started throwing rocks and sticks at him, he suddenly realised why his mother had told him to never show anyone his power.

Once again, he started to cry.

.:::…::…:::...::…:::.

Dull golden eyes watched over the kingdom, not even blinking as he saw the lightning, wind and rain crash into the village. "You'd have to be an idiot," He declared, glancing back at the knight behind him, "To go out in that."

Freed pursed his lips, never having taken his eyes from his young charge. "Perhaps they don't have a choice."

Haou shrugged. "There are shelters." He paused, turning back to the sight, hearing the soft yells and screams coming from outside the castle grounds. "You'd have to be stupid to be out in that." He said again. "Only a fool wouldn't go to a shelter."

.:::…::…:::...::…:::.

They wouldn't let him in.

Jehu stood in disbelief as the men stood at the entrance to the stone shelter, glaring at him as if daring him to come closer.

They wouldn't let him into the shelter.

He couldn't believe it.

Hadn't he just saved them from the wind? Hadn't he just created a windbreak, when they evidently couldn't? Why wouldn't they let him in? His answer came a few seconds later.

"Get back, devil-worshipper!" One of the men yelled, clutching a cross between his hands. "Seek refuge with your demon master!"

Tears pricked at the corner of Jehu's eyes. Why were they treating him like he was a monster? It wasn't his fault. He wasn't a monster. He wasn't a demon. He'd been cursed with these powers, and even when he tried to use them to help people, they rejected him.

In fact, the only reason these men weren't killing him was because the king had forbidden it.

He didn't call the ones with devil-given powers 'Cursed'. He called them 'Gifted'.

He was wrong. Jehu wasn't gifted. He was cursed. That was plain to see.

He didn't stay. He didn't try to argue with them, or beg them to let him in. He managed to force his legs to drag him away. A few minutes later, he saw an alleyway. He collapsed in it, feeling the rain pouring down on him.

He was cold. And it was raining.

And worst of all, no-one cared about him enough to listen.

.:::…::…:::...::…:::.

"…..is this the boy?"

Jehu blinked. He was still wet, and cold. He was shivering. Someone was above him, talking to someone else.

"….you just left him out to die? What kind of a monster are you?"

"-_he's _the monster! He should have died! Further proof that he's a demon!"

"That was luck, not demonic power! His abilities aren't devil-given; they're a gift from the gods!"

"He should have died-"

…..who were they? They were talking about him dying, he knew that much.

He was soaked, and freezing.

At this point, dying didn't sound too bad.

A thought struck him. What if those people were right? If he was a demon, wouldn't he go to hell?

He heard two sets of footsteps; one walking towards him, and one walking away. Something warm fell over him. When Jehu opened his eyes, he saw it was a cloak.

The man looking down on him wasn't a villager, Jehu could tell that by sight. He wasn't wearing rags, his hair wasn't dirty and unkempt, and he was clean. This man had long golden hair, a wreath at the crown of his head, and it looked like he'd pulled his cloak off to drape over Jehu's shivering figure.

"Hello, little one." He smiled, orbs coloured like honey shining kindly. "My name is Honest. And you are?"

Jehu managed to prop himself up on his arms, staring at the man in shock. The sign on his lapel meant he was a part of the royal court.

"I'm…." Jehu couldn't really bring himself to form proper sentences. "I'm…."

Honest blinked, then smiled softly, and placed a hand on Jehu's head, fingers automatically becoming tangled in the boy's messy teal hair. There was a brief pause in which neither of them said anything. Then the man smiled again. "Jehu, is it? It's nice to meet you."

This time, it was shock that kept Jehu from saying anything.

Honest stood up, and the hold he'd taken on Jehu's wrist helped bring the boy to his feet. "Are you gifted?"

Jehu stared at the ground. "If by that you mean, 'Are you a cursed, devil-worshipping demon', then yes."

Honest visibly recoiled, not from Jehu's admittance at what he was, but from what he referred to himself as. "My dear boy! You aren't cursed. Those people just don't understand." He shook his head. "Your power is a _gift_. Those people are too narrow-minded to understand. Their beliefs in their gods blind them. They don't understand that those gods _gave_ us these powers so we could _protect_ them."

Jehu just stood in silence. Honest smiled. "Jehu, I'm like you. I'm gifted. And, there are others like us. Even in the royal family." That statement drew an expression of shock from the boy.

"R-really?"

Honest chuckled at his shock. "Yes. The king's son, Haou, is gifted as well."

An odd feeling filled Jehu, spreading throughput his entire body. He wasn't alone. Even some of the royal family was cursed – or, 'gifted' as Honest liked to put it.

However, that did leave one question.

Jehu stared up at Honest, amber eyes filled with curiosity. "What do you want with me?"

.:::…::…:::...::…:::.

Within the space of three hours, Jehu had been whisked to the castle. He had bathed, in warm water, not rain water, and was dressed in clothes that weren't hand-me-down rags. He had eaten, proper food, not barely-cooked animals he had managed to catch off the streets. His injuries had been taken care of in seconds, healed by Honest.

He was warm, well-fed, and for once, he felt like he was wanted.

Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't somewhat confused.

Jehu waited in the hallway, glancing in the gold framed, full-body mirror propped against the wall.

He looked different.

In fact, he could barely recognise himself.

He was no longer the muddy, blood-stained, scratched and cut boy off the streets, dressed in rags that were all but falling off him. He looked like nobility.

Jehu fiddled awkwardly with the black bands around his wrists. What _were_ these? They had a weird golden symbol on them. Honest had said something about them being the mark of a bodyguard. The marks symbolized _whose_ bodyguard he was.

Because that's what he was.

The king was finding Cursed Ones, or Gifted, and taking them off the streets. Healers and fighters were sent to the army and made medics and soldiers. But apparently Jehu was too young for that.

He was being made Prince Haou's personal guard.

He had been shocked beyond words, at first, but he had agreed. Then, as the hours dragged by, he started to wonder.

Wouldn't a prince be targeted all the time?

Wouldn't this be dangerous?

He could be killed.

He's raised this point with Honest, who'd simply raised an eyebrow and said; "It is our duty to protect the soon-to-be king."

In other words, they didn't give a damn about whether or not Jehu lived or died, so long as Haou came out of his childhood without a scratch on his precious head.

Jehu had felt sick. What made Haou made so much better than everyone else? Honest had even told him the boy wasn't even the king's real son.

So, why?

He soon realised that the symbol on the wristbands didn't just mean that he wasn't just Haou's guard- He was Haou's _property_. That didn't do wonders for his nerves.

He found himself hating the king, and planned to tell him that he didn't want anything to do with his plan, but when the man came in, Jehu found he couldn't.

He looked too kind. And he seemed genuinely happy to see Jehu. He'd even hugged the boy, repeating his thanks over and over.

After that reception, Jehu found that he just couldn't refuse.

"What can you do?" The king had asked, and with a start Jehu realised he was referring to his power.

"Not much." He replied softly. Still, the king was undeterred.

"If you wouldn't mind, show me." It wasn't a request. It was an order. So Jehu complied.

He pressed his fingers to the tabletop, and that familiar sensation of heat filling him, only to be replaced with a sense of being frozen, rushed through his body. He closed his eyes, and felt the sparks shoot down his arm to his fingers.

An odd sound that Jehu couldn't quite describe filled his ears.

When he opened his eyes, the table had been completely covered with crystal. There were huge crystals shooting out of the wood, all shining a darkened rainbow.

They had stared. The king, the knight standing behind him, the servants, and Honest.

Silence.

Then;

"Why, Jehu." The king placed a hand on Jehu's head, something that the adults in the castle had become all too fond of doing. "It's beautiful."

.:::…::…:::...::…:::.

The knight that Honest called Freed had argued with the king. He wasn't happy with the idea of Jehu becoming Haou's guard. After all, the boy had been pulled off the streets, prettied up and didn't have any training. But the king remained adamant in his belief that Haou needed a guard his own age.

When Freed took Jehu to meet Haou for the first time, the knight had told him just how little he approved of the king's scheme.

Jehu had replied, telling him about just how little he wanted to be there.

Freed had ruffled his hair, much to Jehu's annoyance, and said that made one thing that the two agreed on.

"Marvellous!" That was Honest's voice, Jehu could tell. Clapping came from the room just down the hall, inside the opened door. "Truly magnificent. You have such great control for someone your age!"

Honest's praise was barely acknowledged. He wasn't thanked for his kind words. He didn't even get a response.

Freed stood outside the door, and cleared his throat. Loudly. He managed to catch Honest's attention, and the Royal Court's magician called him in. Before Freed entered, he grabbed Jehu by the arm and pulled him along as well.

Jehu stood beside Freed in the ballroom, staring around. It was a prettily designed room, but disfigured by the huge rocks in the centre, where there should have been a dance floor. Honest stood there, smiling warmly. Perched on one of the rocks, there was someone else.

A boy, maybe Jehu's age, and the only other person in the room, so he must have been the one Honest had been complimenting. What caught Jehu's eye, however, weren't the floating lights hovering around the boy. It was the boy's dull golden eyes.

_((Those eyes aren't normal.)) _

His weren't, either. This boy was like him. A Cursed One.

One of the Gifted.

There was a chain hanging from his pants at the side of his leg. The chain had a gem on it. Imbedded in the gem was the same symbol on Jehu's wristbands. The boy seemed to notice this as well, because he glanced at Freed and raised an eyebrow.

"I thought Father was joking when he said he was replacing you." His voice was cold, but silken – that voice was too mature for an eleven year old boy.

Freed let out a growl. Involuntary or not, Jehu would probably never know. "Apparently not, milord."

Haou frowned, golden eyes scrutinising Jehu. "…I don't want him."

"But, milord-" Freed started, but Haou's simple words had already heated up Jehu's temper.

"You think _I_ want to be here?" He yelled, balling his fists. Haou raised an eyebrow.

"Do I care?"

Freed and Honest stood in awkward silence, watching as the two boys stared at each other, eyes locked in a fierce gaze. Amber to Gold.

Suddenly, Haou tore away, staring at one of the rocks instead. As if a rock was of more interest to him than Jehu.

The blunet was about to yell at him, when one of the golden light hovering around Haou shot forward and slammed into the rock.

In a loud explosion, the rock was blown apart. Rubble rained around the room, and a hefty chunk of rock smacked into Jehu's head. "Oww! Fuck!" He rubbed his sore head, cussing under his breath. Haou merely chuckled. Jehu's eye twitched.

"You!" The amber-eyed boy pointed at Haou accusingly. "You did that on purpose, you bastard!"

"No, you got in the way of the rock." Haou replied. "Your fault."

"How was that my fault?"

"You didn't move." Haou glanced down at Freed. "What good will he be if he can't even dodge a rock?" Haou made it sound like he wasn't at fault at all.

Jehu let out a warning growl. Haou ignored it, instead opting to demolish another rock and send a hail of rubble crashing down on Jehu.

"OWWW!" Jehu glared at Haou, who smirked superiorly. Jehu's eye twitched, and the sparks shot down his arms again. That feeling of hot and cold returned, and a crystal started to form in the air.

It wasn't like growing crystals out of the ground. This was more difficult, and it took more time. It took a whole minute, and Haou just stared at him, silently wondering what the boy was doing. When he saw the formed crystal, he realised.

With a quick, punching movement, Jehu sent the crystal flying through the air. Haou's eyes widened, but a blast of light reduced the crystal to nothing.

Haou was silent.

Jehu was trembling with anger.

Both had a similar thought running through their minds;

_I hate him._

…_._

…_.but this could be interesting._

***collapses* DONE! IT'S DONE I SAY! DONNEEEE!**

**This is kind of lengthy. I had other things I wanted to cram into this chapter, but I didn't want it to drag on any longer. *Shrugs* This is kind of Jehu-centric, but what the meh. I didn't explain much about his childhood in chapters 14 and 15, so I figured you might as well get to learn about him. A brief insight into why he's as screwed up in the head as he is. **

**This is the last omake, unless anyone wants me to write any more after the story's finished. If so, ask in a review or PM or something. Next chap's the regular stuff, and it should be up soon, I'm halfway done. After that, updates for anything might be a little strained, though. I'm in an original-writing stage. **

**Anyway, please drop a review on your way out, and thanks for everyone that did review! **

~Oak-chan


	29. Chapter 25: Obsession

_Judai to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_/Rei to Asuka/_

_/Asuka to Rei/_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan))_

_[Ryo to Fubuki]_

_[[Fubuki to Ryo]]_

_/-Yubel thinking-/_

_+Weapon to Spirit+_

_++Spirit to Weapon++ (All right, I finally realised that doesn't support the little signs that look like 'V's on their sides. A quick amendment here. Sorry if you had trouble following the conversation between Sho and __**CENSORED**__ last chapter. _-_-;)

_**Edo Thinking/Edo's psychic trances**_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to solid (one in control of body)" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to pretty much anyone"

**Me: Hello and welcome to…..*pauses* Right, not a game show. Welcome to chapter 25!**

**Jehu: Yeah, Oak-chan's pretty excited. **

**Me: Damn straight! Chapter 25! That's a big accomplishment! I honestly didn't think I'd make it this far!**

**Jehu: Yeah. Apparently this story ends at roughly chapter 28, so that apparently means something.**

**Me: It does! This chapter is a huge marking point for me!**

**Jehu: And apparently this chapter is something special?**

**Me: Oh yeah. It's fanservice, people!**

**Jehu: *reading script*…..this is fanservice?**

**Me: Apparently.**

**Jehu: *pause*…..oh….I **_**kind **_**of see it. But wait, what's up with Yube-**

**Me: *whacks on head* Shush! Don't ruin it! *starts duct-taping Jehu's mouth shut* Please enjoy the chapter!**

_Chapter 25: Obsession _

Sho stared at his hands, not really comprehending what he had just witnessed. The Judai lookalike, the Johan lookalike, and the winged man….they had all ripped apart that other man mercilessly. Why? They acted like they hated him.

_++They do.++_

_+Why?+_

_++Because of what he did.++ _The laugh that followed was short and dry. _++They deserved it.++_

_+What did he do?+_

_++You don't need to know.++_

Sho didn't push any further. It would be an invasion of privacy to push into his spirit's business, wouldn't it? Because it seemed like they knew exactly what was going on.

_++Saiou, that fool. I can't believe he thought he could take the three of them on…++_

_+So Saiou was the guy that was killed?+_

_++He's already dead, boya. Even more so, now.++ _There was a jerk at the back of his mind. _++Keep moving. We don't want them to find us.++_

_+But….Nii-san and Judai and the others are down there! They're my friends!+_

_++They aren't in this competition, boya.++_

Sho wanted to argue, but his spirit sounded a little….scared. Like they desperately didn't want to be found by these people. What had they called them again?

Saiou. Haou. Jehu. And Yubel.

That was it, wasn't it?

The tiny blunet boy got to his feet and started to jog away from the train station. The spirit voiced their approval. Sho's jog became a run.

What would happen if Ryo and Judai found him with a spirit that theirs seemed to want to find? What would happen? Would they be angry?

He didn't want to stick around to find out.

"Hey! Hold up!" Sho glanced back, then let out a 'meep' when he saw the raven-haired man from before chasing after him. His wings were gone, but he was still wearing the outfit from the train station; a black and grey semi-long-sleeve shirt and black jeans that were tucked into black-and-grey boots. He was also, for some reason, wearing black gloves. "C'mon! I just wanna talk to you!"

_++Ahh!++ _The spirit sounded scared. _++Yubel! That traitor….don't listen to him! Block your ears!++_

"Boya….stop!" The voice that reached Sho's ears was so compelling. Musical, even. So gentle. So beautiful. He stopped, turning around to face the man his spirit had called Yubel. Because who could argue with a beautiful voice like that?

Yubel came to a halt before Sho, stopping so he could catch his breath. Sho wasn't by any means fast, but he was small and nimble, and had ducked through alleyways and through crowds to dodge his pursuer. "Good….you….stopped." Yubel took one last breath, then smiled at Sho. The blunet felt himself blushing. What a beautiful smile. What a beautiful _person_. How could such a person possibly be bad?

"I need to talk to you. Is that okay?" His eyes were beautiful, too. Odd, but beautiful. One turquoise and one amber. They suited him. Sho nodded. He couldn't pull his eyes away from Yubel's.

"Yeah….what do you want to talk about?" Sho asked. From within his mind, the spirit cursed, but he could barely hear them. This man….Yubel…..he was more important.

Yubel bent down on one knee, and looked up at Sho, taking one of the blunet's hands in his own. God, those eyes were beautiful.

_++Boya! Look away! You're falling under his spell, idiot!++_

_+Shush. Yubel's talking.+_

_++BOYA-++_

Sho didn't listen, because Yubel was speaking. "What's your name?"

"Sho Marufuji."

Recognition flashed in Yubel's eyes. "You know a man called Ryo?"

"He's my Nii-san. Do you know him?"

"We're friends."

That was odd. Wouldn't Ryo have mentioned having such a breathtaking friend? Then again, wouldn't Ryo have mentioned being a weapon? Yubel was silent, then he managed to get back on topic.

"Do you know someone….called Ran Kochou?"

That was a familiar name. Sho blinked. Oh, that was right….Ran was-

Before he could open his mouth, he was sucked back into his mind, making way for his spirit to come through.

A flash of bright pink light filled the area. Yubel held a hand over his eyes, and when it faded, Sho was no longer there. It was a woman, with long rose-coloured hair that was partially braided, partially let down. She wore a beautiful red-and-gold dress, and her brown eyes shone with anger.

Yubel blinked, then held out his arms in greeting. "Ran-hime. It's been too long. You look well."

Ran, for that's who it was, balled her fists and glowered. "Don't speak as if we're friends, traitor!"

Yubel pouted. "Aww, that's mean. What a way to greet an old friend."

"You betrayed us!" Ran yelled. "You left us for Haou! We had everything planned, but you left us! You deserved what you got! You deserved to die next to that scum, if you loved him so much!"

The raven's eyes narrowed, and in a flash of silver light he was back to his true form. His gothic wings flared out and Ran took a step back. "You…" Yubel pointed a shaking finger at Ran, trembling with pure rage. "…can shut up. What you did was low. You had Saiou brainwash Jehu. Do you know how humiliating it was? To be killed by _his_ hands? You hurt Haou-sama." Ran instantly noted the '-sama' that had been added to the king's name.

"He deserved what he got!" The rose-haired princess shot back. Yubel shook his head.

"You hurt Haou-sama." He repeated. "You as good as killed Haou-sama." His wings flared out again, lifting him into the air. "And for that….."

Ran clenched her fists as a giant, thorny rose tentacle shot out of the ground, circling around Yubel in a crazy dance. "…." She remained silent, watching as rage, and pure insanity, shot through Yubel's eyes.

"…YOU MUST DIE!"

Before Ran could even blink he'd flung his arm forward, and the rose tentacle shot towards her at breakneck speed. Understandably, she panicked. She had never fought when she was alive. She could barely control her gift. Saiou had always protected her.

But he was gone.

Yubel had contributed to his destruction.

She fell onto the ground in a desperate bid to dodge, tearing part of her dress as she did. The rose shot overhead and slammed into the wall behind her. Yubel grinned, then glanced around.

There was no-one there, and even if anyone did show up, he could enter their mind and make them forget they'd ever seen anything.

Good.

She was as good as destroyed.

Ran looked up, panic reflected in her eyes. She let out a cry of rage, and without really thinking she swung her arm towards him. A flash of bright pink light filled the area, and while Yubel covered his eyes he sunk to the ground.

When he could bear to look, Ran was gone.

.:…:…:…:…:…:.

Sho was quiet.

That was good, Ran didn't want to have to say anything to him.

She had taken control of his body, morphing into her weapon's form. She ran desperately, looking for any sign of life that could save her from Yubel.

No-one appeared.

Ran found herself losing breath quickly. Neither she nor Sho were particularly athletic, and it was really beginning to show.

"GET BACK HERE!" The voice that yelled after her was angry and twisted. A glance back told her that Yubel had taken to the skies to chase her. And he was catching up. Fast.

Ran could barely think straight when the giant, pointed rose tentacles slammed into the ground. She re-took her true form, but stayed in Sho's clothes (they were too small, but she didn't care; they were easier to run in than her dress) and fired random blasts of pink light over her shoulder. She didn't stop to see if they connected.

"RAN!" Yubel yelled, dropping to the ground. Ran didn't stop, she kept running….

…..and found herself backed into an alleyway.

She spun around. Yubel was right there, standing in front of her. He looked angry.

"Yubel…." She whispered. "Please. We can talk about this."

Yubel shook his head. "No. No, we can't."

"Please-"

"NO!" He yelled. "No! It's your fault! It's your fault we died! Yours!" He was trembling with anger, and the huge, thorned rose tentacles danced all over the alleyway, occasionally slashing Ran as they passed her.

"Bell-"

"Shut. Up." Yubel seethed. "Don't call me that. Jehu used to call me that. I hated him calling me that, and I hate you calling me that just as much!" He pointed at the shaking girl, who had fallen to the ground. "You first. Then him. I'll destroy you all! You can rot in hell for all I care. Then I'll have Haou all to myself. We'll rule the Spirit Realm together. No-one will get in our way!" He let out a psychotic laugh.

Then, and only then, did Ran realise just how much trouble she was in.

"I knew….." He whispered. "I knew, even in the Spirit Realm, that something was wrong. Jehu wouldn't betray Haou! It was easy to see that the fool was completely and utterly besotted with him. But I couldn't figure it out. I hated Jehu for what he did. But now, everything makes sense." Yubel shook his head, then continued;

"I hated him. In fact, my hatred made me this! A monster!" Yubel lifted his arm, hidden by the gloves and his shirt. He pulled off his glove and rolled down the sleeve. Ran gasped. His arm was leathery, reddish-purple and clawed. Demonic.

"What…." she whispered. "What happened to you?"

"My hatred corrupted my spirit." He whispered. "I'm a monster." He grinned, and his figure began to change. It was almost like his skin was peeling off in layers. Ran literally couldn't look away as Yubel, beautiful Yubel, was replaced with a horrific monster.

He grinned as his hair began wild and unruly, half turning white, and half turning grey-blue. A freakish third eye appeared on his forehead and he let out a twisted laugh. "See? See what you've done to me? But don't look like that; it's not _entirely_ your fault. Its Jehu's as well. It's his fault for making Haou love him."

"You're a freak." Ran whispered. "You always were. But even more so now."

Yubel just laughed. "Yeah, well, this _freak_ is going to rule the Spirit Realm with the man he loves. However, we need pendants, and lots of them." He grinned. "Just like Haou's death helped you become Queen of Märchen, your destruction is going to help Haou become Supreme King of the Spirit Realm."

Silence. Then;

"Die, Ran."

If anyone was to pass that vicinity within the next ten minutes, all they'd be able to hear was Ran's screams and the sound of blood splattering against the walls.

**HA! *Collapses* It's….wait…..*Stands up* I actually don't need to collapse! XD Three chapters + 1 epilogue to go. It's a countdown now. XDD**

**I Didn't write up Ran's death. I figure you can imagine that for yourself. *grins***

**Well, Ran's out for the count. And just lookit what happened to Yubel. Next chapter's Yubel vs. Jehu. Who's going to survive? Actually, will either of them survive? And what's going to happen to Haou? Will he fall for Yubel? (For his monster form, just think Duel Monster Yubel from the anime, if you hadn't figured it out)**

…**..will I actually explain how you win this stupid competition? I fully realise I haven't actually explained how you win yet. That's next chapter!**

**Anyway, please review, and for everyone that reviewed last time, THANKJOO! **

_~Oak-chan_


	30. Chapter 26: Twisted Hatred

_Judai to Haou_

_-Haou to Judai-_

_/Rei to Asuka/_

_/Asuka to Rei/_

_(Johan to Jehu)_

_((Jehu to Johan))_

_[Ryo to Fubuki]_

_[[Fubuki to Ryo]]_

_/-Yubel thinking-/_

_+Weapon to Spirit+_

_++Spirit to Weapon++ _

_**Edo Thinking/Edo's psychic trances**_

"_Spirit (or spirit form) talking to anyone (one in control of body)" _

"Human (or solid form) talking to anyone"

_**:/AN/: This first part's one of Edo's visions. No, I **__**hadn't**__** forgotten about that particular plot point.**_

_Chapter 26: Twisted Hatred_

_**.:...:…:…:.**_

"_**I HATE YOU!"**_

_**Jehu took a step back, eyes widened in shock as his hand flew to the gaping wound in his side. He stared to the sky, ignoring the blood gushing onto the floor at his feet. Edo followed his gaze. **_

_**Wings. Claws. A horrific monster hovered above them, thorny rose tentacles covered in blood dancing all around it.**_

"_**I FUCKING HATE YOU, JEHU!"**_

_.:Flash:._

_**Now the creature was attacking Jehu at close range, claws slashing at him while Jehu desperately ducked and dodged every lunge. The claws connected, slashing open his chest, and Jehu fell to the ground with a yell of pain.**_

_.:Flash:._

"_**What are you doing?" Haou stood in front of Jehu, but he wasn't armed at all. No armour, no magic, no weapons. He was in Judai's form, and Edo had only realised it was Haou because of his bright golden orbs. "Stop this madness right now!"**_

_**The monster paused, as if listening, then shook its head. "No! I'm doing this for us! You'll see! This is my love, Haou!"**_

_**Haou was taken aback for a second. The monster used his confusion to its advantage, rushing past him and towards Jehu with its claws outstretched. Haou tried to run to stop it, but a giant rose tentacle blocked his path.**_

_**A slash.**_

_**Blood everywhere.**_

_**Jehu collapsed, eyes wide as blood pooled around him.**_

_**Haou stared on with wide eyes. "What have you done….?"**_

_**A manic laugh. The monster turned to face Haou, who was in complete shock. Then;**_

"_**YUBEL!"**_

_**.:…:…:…:.**_

Edo's eyes shot wide open as the vision came to a close. He lay still on the floor where he had collapsed for a few seconds, then blinked as the images of the vision flashed through his mind. Then the silver-haired teen let out a groan and stood up, clutching at his head as he staggered back a few steps.

"What…" He whispered, recapturing his balance by grabbing a hold on the desk he'd stumbled back into. "….was that?" Edo shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, then blinked a few times. Things weren't becoming any clearer. He'd seen a monster attacking Jehu, Haou appearing, the monster practically telling Haou it loved him, then attacking Jehu again. Jehu dying, or being destroyed, and Haou yelling….

Yubel.

It couldn't be. Could it? That monster was Yubel? How?

Edo collapsed roughly onto his office chair, hearing it creak under the sudden addition of weight. He stared at a blank piece of paper for a few seconds, then rubbed his eyes with one hand.

Was that a dream? Or a vision? A vision tainted by a dream? That had happened before. Once, he'd watched _Mr. Jingles_ and during a vision he had the next day predicting a mass murder, he saw people being mutilated by an insane clown. Sure enough, people _were _killed, but there were no slapstick comedians involved. Maybe he shouldn't have watched a horror movie marathon with Ryo and Fubuki the previous night…

Edo glanced to the side, seeing his mobile phone a few inches away from where he'd planted his elbow. Even if it was tainted somewhat, Jehu still might end up getting hurt, even if not by a weird monster thing the future Haou called Yubel. It wouldn't hurt to warn Judai ahead, would it?

.:…:….:….:.

"You saw what?" Judai stared at Edo with an odd expression on his face. "So…. A monster thing?"

Edo nodded. "That's what I saw."

"And it killed Jehu." Johan repeated, trying to clarify what Edo had just told them.

"Yes."

"And Haou called it Yubel?" Judai asked.

"Are you going to keep repeating what I just said?" Edo sighed and rested his forehead on his hand. "Look, it could have been a tainted vision. I mean, sometimes they get mixed up with dreams."

Judai nodded in comprehension. "Like the Mr. Jingles thing."

Edo shot Judai a glare. "Yes, like the Mr. Jingles thing."

Johan gave the two odd looks. "What about Mr. Jingles?"

"Nothing." Edo said quickly, successfully stopping Judai from explaining. "Look, I just figured I'd tell you guys. It's probably nothing. Hell, it might not have even been a vision. Just some really screwed up dream fuelled by all the weird things that have been happening recently."

"Fair enough." Johan paused, then got back to what was really eating at him. "I still want to know what the Mr. Jingles thing was, though."

"It was nothing!" Edo yelled just as Jehu faded into existence next to Johan. "I just had a vision in which an insane clown killed people! That's all!"

"_I just tuned into this conversation at the wrong time, didn't I?" _Jehu asked. Edo slammed his hand into his face, groaning.

It took Edo ten minutes to repeat the entire vision and explain to deceased blunette exactly what he had seen. And even then Jehu seemed somewhat sceptical.

"_So Yubel's a monster and he kills me?" _Jehu mused. _"I'm going to reach and say that something's wrong here."_ He looked up. _"What does Haou have to say about all this?"_

"Nothing, so far." Judai answered. "He's asleep."

It was then that Yubel appeared, walking to the table that the three (not including Jehu) had seated themselves at outside the café. "Hey!" He called cheerfully, raising his hand in greeting. "What're you guys talking about?"

Edo, Judai, Johan and Jehu all exchanged glances. "Nothing." Edo said finally. "You wanna sit down?"

.:…:….:….:.

It had been three days since what was probably the most satisfying day of Yubel's death. Almost as good as the day that his father told him that he and Haou were going to be married. _That_ had been the best day of his **life**.

The day that Yubel had helped annihilate Saiou, and singlehandedly sent Ran to her destruction. The raven smirked as he walked down the street, aiming for Marcel's home. As soon as he neared the door he closed his eyes, letting a silver light wash over him.

He opened the door and stepped into the house, looking around through Marcel's eyes.

What had happened to Marcel, anyway? Yubel remembered taking control of the boy, and never once letting him regain control. He had fought at first, then Yubel spoke to him, convincing him that this was a good thing. Marcel had agreed, and over time his voice just faded away. Maybe he had died, or maybe he was in a coma. Yubel didn't know, and he didn't really care, either.

Yubel walked past Napoleon, Marcel's father, and gave him an acknowledging nod and a shaking 'hello, father'. Then he was in Marcel's room. As soon as he closed the door he took on his own form again. Honestly. He hated being Marcel.

The spirit sat at the desk, staring at his gloved hands. Yubel tugged one of his gloves off and stared at his leathery, clawed hand. He sighed, reaching for a piece of paper. Yubel took the sheaf, then started tearing it apart and cursing everything wrong, a habit he had become all too fond of.

"It's your fault." He murmured. "Jehu. It's your fault I'm a monster, and a freak, and that Haou doesn't love me. How could he, when he so obviously loves _you_? I wish you'd died at war, or, even better, when you were a kid and Haou hadn't met you. Then none of this would have happened!" Yubel yelled the last part, shredding the paper viciously until it was too small to do anything to.

With a scream of rage he slammed his fist into the wall, smashing through part of it and showering him with plasterboard. Yubel let out a few sobs and sunk to his knees, barely hearing the quick footsteps running up the stairs until the door was wrenched open and Napoleon ran into the room.

"Marcel? Marcel, are you oka-" Yubel turned to face his 'father', glaring at him with mismatched turquoise and orange eyes.

"Hello, 'father'." Yubel spat venomously. This human was just as repulsive as all the others. "Can I help you?"

Napoleon reeled back in shock, staring at Yubel with wide eyes. "Who are you?" He yelled as Yubel stood up and started walking towards him. "Get away from me! Oh, god, stay away from me!" He screamed as he saw Yubel's demonic hand.

"Well, 'father'…" Yubel raised his hand, smiling sadistically as Napoleon ran back into the wall. "….I'm in the mood to kill something."

The last thing Napoleon remembered of his life was screaming as Yubel lunged for him with an angry yell as fang-like markings appeared under his eyes and wings sprouted from his back.

.:…:….:….:.

Johan didn't honestly know what to expect when he saw Yubel walking towards him, covered in blood.

The weapon had gone to pick something up from the shops for his mother. He was walking down the deserted streets; not at all far from the abandoned train station that Saiou had been destroyed in, when he heard screams coming from one of the houses. Then one of the house doors slammed open, and Yubel walked out, covered in blood. He looked around, saw Johan, smiled and started walking towards him.

Johan didn't know what to think. And as Yubel got closer, he took instant note of the wings, markings and, worst of all, the fact that Yubel's hands looked rather demonic.

"Uh…. Yubel?" Johan glanced around nervously, words of Edo's prediction coming to mind even though he desperately wanted to forget them. "Wh-what's up? What was that scream just now? Are you okay?"

Yubel nodded silently, never once taking his eyes off Johan. "I'm okay. I'm _better_ than okay." He mumbled. "And everyone's asleep. I made sure of that. They won't wake up. Never, ever. This is great…. This timing…. It's great…. I can't believe you're here, Johan…"

Johan took a few steps back, a horrible realisation running through his mind. Those screams were the people that lived here, in this street. Yubel had killed them. Why, he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure he wanted to know, either. But with the way that Yubel was looking at him, the sadistic grin etched on his face, Johan became sure of one thing very, very soon.

"Jehu…." He mumbled, taking a few steps back. For every step he took, Yubel took one towards him.

"…..help me…."

**Updated! XD The first update of the New Year! Enjoy! **

**Well, not much to say except please review! **

_~Oak-chan_


	31. Chapter 27: Death and Destruction

_Okay, I'm 100% sure you guys know all the listings that usually go here by now…Unless, of course, it's been so long since my __**last damn update **__that you forgot._

…_.still not writing them in._

_**:/AN/: (BEWARE. THIS IS A BIT RAMBLY). Okay. I'll say this now. I'm sorry. I'm sooo-o-o-o-o-o-r-r-r-rrry. I haven't updated in like, ten months, and to be quite honest, I was pretty sure I was going to discontinue all of my **_**GX **_**fics.**_

_**I'm not going to give you any excuses like I've been drowning in schoolwork, or I was at a funeral because grandma died, or I haven't been able to write my house got hit by a tornado or I fell into a coma because I haven't. Well, I'm pretty sure none of those things happened. I hope they didn't. It would kind of suck if I was imagining I'm writing this because I suffocated under a heap of textbooks and fell into a coma when my house fell down because of a bothersome whirlwind. And then my grandma died a day later (which would be really peculiar and slightly scary, taking into consideration they're both already dead).**_

_**Back on topic, I've been losing interest in the series for a while (*cough* understatement). But, I'm at least going to try to finish this (Operation: Matchmaker… Meh, that's another matter entirely. I can't even remember where I was going with it. Sorry about that. Adoption, anybody?).**_

_**In all honesty, I started EverAfter as a way to try and sink back into the fandom.**_

_**Anyway… So Sakural7865 made me get off my lazy ass and write this. If you'd been waiting with bated breath for the next update, thank her for it!**_

_**Here's Chapter 27, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it!**_

_Chapter 27: Death and Destruction_

Despite what others may have said, Judai wasn't stupid. He got bad grades in class not because he couldn't do the work, but because he was too lazy to put in the effort. He did stupid things because he acted in the spur of the moment, not because he actually thought his stupid actions were genuinely good things to do. He wasn't so dense that he couldn't put a figurative two and two together and get four.

It wasn't exactly rocket science to make sense of the situation – actually, all the clues had been given to him on a silver platter. Firstly, almost every news channel was going on about a mass murder on Sakura Avenue. Secondly, almost every live field reporter was standing baffled in front of an impregnable mesh of rose tentacles and darkened crystal, also on Sakura Avenue.

It didn't take a genius to work out what was going on. Somehow, Yubel and Jehu were fighting. And somehow, Edo's prediction was right on the mark and was in the stages of completely unfolding in exactly the way he'd said that it would. But, Judai believed there was a chance to stop what was supposed to happen. In the prediction, Haou had been there when Jehu was destroyed. So maybe if they didn't go and stayed at home instead, he wouldn't lose and things would end up being okay.

And that's why it was really too bad that Judai wasn't in control of his body right then, and that it was Haou rushing through street after street after street, running at full speed for all he was worth trying to get to Sakura Avenue.

_We have to stop! _Judai yelled from inside his own mind. _Turn around, Haou! Go back home! If we do, then maybe –_

_- Shut up, Judai! - _Haou snapped, and Judai fell silent. _- I'm going to pound some sense into those idiots! -_

_You already tried that, remember? In Edo's vision? Jehu was destroyed!_

_- Not this time! I know what I'm doing now! - _

Haou's run dropped to walking speed as he briskly strode past the police tape that clearly read _'DO NOT PASS'_. A few officers ran forward to try and stop him, but he took a single step and vanished in a flash of gold light, reappearing on the street a few metres from the mesh of rose thorns and crystals. They had completely overtaken a section of the road, pushing into houses and digging into the ground, splitting apart the cement.

"Hey!" An officer dressed in blue and white ran up to Haou, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You can't be here!"

Haou flinched, and a mere moment later he slowly turned his head to face him. "I don't care." He growled. The officer flinched the second he saw Haou's bright golden eyes. "Get out of my way." Haou raised a hand and slammed it into the officer, sending him hurtling back. _– Now. – _The crystal-and-rose wall stood in front of him. Haou stared at it, eyes narrowing _– Just how the hell do I get in there? – _

.:…:….:….:.

Inside the mesh of rose and crystal, Jehu let out a yelp of pain as a thorn dug into his side. Amber eyes narrowed and he gave a guttural growl, throwing his hand forward to let loose a barrage of crystal shards. Yubel leapt into the air, wings pushing him back so he could dodge. It wasn't the fact that he'd missed that pissed Jehu off the most; it was that Yubel was smiling. The bastard was fucking _smiling_! After everything he had done, everything he had planned to do and everything that was supposed to happen, he was fucking smiling!

The battle had begun rather one-sidedly. In fact, it couldn't have even been called a 'battle', because a battle consists of two or more people fighting each other, and that most certainly was not what had happened. Yubel had initially leapt forward and slashed his infernal claws against Johan, sending the boy reeling back in pain before he fell onto his knees, clutching his chest as blood trickled through his fingers. Then Jehu took over, Yubel pounced on him and seconds later the giant rose fortress had constructed itself out of the ground. Not one to be outdone, Jehu had tried to take over the area with his crystal, and the result was an eerie rose-and-crystal castle in the middle of town.

(God, those spirit-human realm relations people had one hell of a job to do once this was over, Jehu couldn't help but think.)

The creepiest thing was that the more Yubel attacked him the more of his humanity seemed to slip away. It was like the guy was turning into a monster. Which… Edo had said that he would. Right. Jehu glanced up and threw himself to the side as a giant rose tentacle slammed into the ground where he'd been moments before, pulling up from a roll in time to pull the katana at his sides up and block the ornate crystal-studded dagger Yubel had just tried to stab him with.

"Give it up!" The dagger was pulled away for a moment before Yubel attempted to impale him again. "I'm not losing! I won't let you take him from me again!"

"Fuck…" Jehu grunted as he shoved the dagger away with all the strength he could muster, launching himself at the fiendish… _abomination_. "…_off!_" Blades clashed and Yubel threw himself back as a crystal shot out of the ground directly below him. "Oi, bastard!" He yelled. "What the hell d'you think you're doing?"

"I'm getting what I deserve!" Yubel snarled. He flung himself back at Jehu with his claws outstretched. "And what I deserve is Haou!"

"How d'you figure?" Jehu muttered, slashing the katana forward. The blade connected with Yubel's outstretched wrist for a millisecond, slicing through skin and flesh to let a torrent of blood gush forth. The creature let out a demented howl of pain, landing back on the ground and clutching at his wrist as his mismatched eyes flashed dangerously.

Yubel stared down at his wrist, at the jagged wound caught right between his wrist and hand. "How dare you…!" He growled. "You cut me… You don't deserve to even _touch _me! I have royal blood! I'm going to rule the spirit world side by side with Haou! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO EVEN BREATHE THE SAME _AIR _THAT I DO!"

Jehu raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you've definitely cracked." He paused for a split second before leaping skywards and throwing a barrage of crystal shards at Yubel, landing lightly against a giant gemstone protruding from the ground. He dropped to the ground and put one hand against his hip, using the other to create and hold a glowing ball of dark rainbow light. "And you've got one thing totally, totally wrong."

Yubel's eyes narrowed. "And what's that?"

"If _anyone's _going to be ruling next to Haou…" Jehu moved into a semi-defensive stance, one arm held out protectively in front of him as the rainbow light in his hand began to pulsate. "…_it's __**me**__!" _

With one swift, fluid motion Jehu threw his hand forward and the light shot forward in a condensed beam. There was no time to even move before Yubel was flung back against the wall with a painful crash. He let out a soft moan as the thorns pushed into his back and he started to slide down the crystal barrier. Slowly, painfully, he started to fall to the ground, and for one split second Jehu thought he'd won.

But, like a plant growing in fast-forward, a huge rose bud shot out of the ground and opened up into a giant black rose that caught Yubel, cushioning his fall.

"_Fuck_." If Yubel still had the power to do something like that, he still had enough power left to fight. And sure enough, the fiend flew out of the rose petals mere seconds later. "You want more of that?" Jehu threatened as a second ball of light appeared at hand. "I can do this _all fucking day_."

"Really?" Yubel yelled. The rose exploded and petals flew everywhere, obscuring Jehu's vision and - _"I HATE YOU!"_

Jehu took a step back, eyes widened in shock as his hand flew to the gaping wound in his side. He stared to the sky, ignoring the blood gushing onto the floor at his feet.

Wings. Claws. A horrific monster hovered above him, thorny rose tentacles covered in blood dancing all around it. "_I FUCKING HATE YOU, JEHU!" _Yubel – now completely a monster – screeched as the thorny tentacles poised to strike.

Jehu's eyes widened and he leapt back, dropping to the floor as the tentacles slammed into the ground and the wall behind him, sending shattered crystal and debris down on top of him. He coughed, pushing himself up as Yubel swooped down and –

Now Yubel was attacking him at close range, claws slashing at him while Jehu desperately ducked and dodged every lunge. The claws connected, slashing open his chest, and Jehu fell to the ground with a yell of pain and -

"What are you doing?" There was a blast of golden light and a crystal in a corner of the castle, the rose tentacles wrapped around it withering and dying. Judai – no, Haou - appeared, pushing through the plants. His eyes locked on Jehu and he let out an angry growl, running up to stand in front of him. No armour, no magic, no weapons. "Stop this madness right now!"

Yubel paused, listening, then shook his head. "No! I'm doing this for us! You'll see! This is my love, Haou!"

Haou, who had opened his mouth to yell something back, froze as Yubel's words sunk in. Yubel swooped down again, using Haou's confusion to his advantage, and rushed past him towards Jehu with his claws outstretched. Haou tried to run to stop it, but a giant rose tentacle burst out of the ground to block his path and –

A slash.

Blood everywhere.

Jehu collapsed, eyes wide as blood pooled around him.

Haou's eyes widened, his whole world thundering down upon him – "What have you done…?" All he received in response was a manic laugh as Yubel turned to face him. Then;

"YUBEL!"

.:…:….:….:.

But, as Edo realised later, when Judai told him what had happened, it hadn't been Haou who yelled.

.:…:….:….:.

Jehu, bloodstained and bleeding, launched himself forward and knocked Yubel to the ground with his katana raised high. "I'm at least taking you with me," he snarled and stabbed down. Yubel, too shocked to react, felt the blade pierce through his chest into his heart, and –

Jehu turned to Haou, smiling sadly. "I love you Haou. See you on the other side, maybe." And –

_In a flash of light they were both gone._

"…" There was silence, and nothing else, as Haou looked around, taking in the blood, the crystals and the flowers, silently wondering why they hadn't vanished yet.

…_Haou?_

Nothing.

_Haou?_

Nothing…

_HA –_

"Haou?"

Haou flinched and spun around in time to see a flash of green light. He briefly wondered – was that Jehu, or Yubel? Were they back? His heart lifted a little at the thought, before he realised; that wasn't either of their voices.

A man with spiky black hair, bandages wrapped around one eye and a western-styled outfit, hat included, stood in front of him. "You're Haou, aren't you?"

"What's it to you?" Haou snarled, eyes raking over him before they locked on a cut emerald hanging from his neck. _– Pendant. –_

"How many pendants do you have now?" The man asked. When Haou said nothing, instead just turning to face him, he tried again. "That was kind of rude, wasn't it? I'm Jim Cook. I'm a Spirit Realm official. And… Wow!" He whistled, glancing around him. "This'll take some work! How many saw _this_ beauty?"Haou stayed silent. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, how many pendants do you have now?"

"I've had enough of this competition and those damn pendants to last the rest of my existence," Haou hissed, eyes flashing as he entered his battle form – black armour and golden light. "What do you want? Come to destroy me? I'll _kill _you – I need to kill something, right now –"

Jim's eyes widened. "What? No!" He waved his hands dismissively. "That's not it! I came to tell you. All fights are off. Everything been decided! The competition's finished! We have a winner! Isn't that great?"

"_The competition's finished."_

"_All fights are off!" _

"_We have a winner!"_

"_Isn't that great?"_

What was great about it? Because if he'd arrived a minute earlier, Jehu and Yubel wouldn't be –

"Dead." Haou hissed. "All of you in the Spirit Realm. _You are all __**dead**__."  
_

* * *

_**Oak-chan's Corner**_

**OH MY GOD. I DID IT. I UPDATED. AND MY GOD, I HOPE IT DOESN'T SUCK!**

**Please review… That is, if there's still anyone following this ^^;**

**Two chapters to go...**

_~Oak-chan_


	32. Chapter 28: Farewells & Unrivalled Pain

_**I'm back. *waves* Hi. So, for some reason I find it a lot easier to work on these things when I'm actually at school (just got off summer break), and managed to type this up between classes (and random friends looking over my shoulder and asking what I'm doing, then mispronouncing all the names when they attempt to read aloud). I wrote this thing on OneNote (u mad, LOST?), so I actually spent longer trying to clean this up and fix all the errors that cropped up when transferring it to Word than I did writing it all up.**_

_**Now that I'm actually looking back, I published this back when I was in year nine, so I was thirteen when I started writing it. Now I'm fifteen, and when I recently re-read the entire thing to get a sort of idea of where I was going, I finally realised just how much this story in particular has actually done for my writing style (a lot).**_

_**I also realised just how many plotholes there were in this thing, so I'm attempting to tie off all those loose ends this chapter.**_

_**Anyway, here's chapter 28. Again, all credit for motivation goes to Sakural7865!**_

_Chapter 28: Farewells and Unrivalled Pain_

It was kind of strange how these things actually happened. One second she was there. Then she wasn't.

It had been late at night, about ten o'clock. Rei had been at her computer, clicking away at this and that online but not really paying attention to any of it because the only thing on her mind was Jehu. He was supposed to die tonight… well, not die. 'Get eliminated'. Why did they call it dying, anyway? They were all already dead.

"_Bad habit, most likely."_ Asuka had replied. _"You would say 'I'll kill you', in life, not 'I'll eliminate you', and the habit probably just stuck."_

"Oh. Right." That had never occurred to her. Asuka smiled, opened her mouth to say something else and then she was gone.

Just like that. Gone. No flash of light, no puff of smoke. Just there one second, gone the next.

Rei blinked, reaching up to rub at her eyes. "Asuka?" No response. "Asuka, where did you go?" _/Asuka, seriously, where are you?/_

Nothing. Nada. And there was absolutely no energy at the back of her mind, nothing there. It felt so empty.

This was weird.

Rei stood up. Everything was so quiet.

And then there was screaming.

She ran to the window and pulled open the curtains; people were bursting out of their houses, running into the streets, yelling and demanding to know what was happening. _/Weapons?/ _Rei thought, watching the chaos. Did that mean she wasn't the only one whose spirit had just vanished? What did this mean? What was happening?

Rei pulled away from the window and flicked on her TV. There were reports about chaos in the streets as people freaked out for no apparent reason, demanding to know where certain people were. On another channel, a reporter had completely broken down on air and was demanding to know where Carly had gone. And on another there was an interview asking if the strange rose and crystal castle at Sakura Avenue was somehow connected to the chaos.

Wait. Rose and crystal castle? Oh god, Jehu and Yubel. Rei watched intently for another couple of minutes, but it was mainly just speculation. No-one was actually talking about the castle, or if there was a fight or anything. Since there was nothing, it probably wasn't that big a deal. Maybe everything had just blown over?

Yeah, right. Edo had predicted the school burning down, _and _he had called that there would be a fight between those two. Rei wasn't about to start doubting him now.

Where _was _Edo? Rei was just about to stand up and call him, to find out what was happening, when everything stopped.

Literally.

.:…:….:….:.

"What have you done?" Haou asked quietly. Jim Cook finally tore himself away from the rose and crystal castle and smiled.

"Clean-up. The spirits have gone home, 'cept for you, and we just froze general human psyche. They were freaking out. I'll let them go later, once we've released the stability essence to calm them down. _And _we need to get rid of this thing." Jim gestured at the castle around the two of them. "After that, we'll take the injured weapons and return them to regular society."

"'The injured weapons'?" Haou repeated.

"Yeah, injured. You know, the ones that just vanished off the face of the earth after their battles?" Jim smiled. "They did. We took them to Spirit Realm to heal. They won't remember later, of course, but we had to heal 'em up. Like that guy Cronos? The one whose head you cut off? Yeah, he's fine now. And Johan, Marcel and that kid Yubel mutilated, Sho, they'll be alright. And that mass murder, we really need to deal with that." Jim sighed. "But mate, seriously, you can't uprise against the Spirit Realm. The elders will gut you alive. Figuratively speaking."

"Oh, no. Spare my figurative guts," Haou hissed. "Just send me back there. I'm going to tear them apart."

"There it is!" Jim threw his hands up in exasperation. "That's why I can't send you back yet! We don't need an uprising at this point!"

"An uprising?"

"People will agree with you! You aren't the only one that had to go through weird issues involving past lives and love triangles and friendship and all that."

Haou's eyebrows furrowed. "You know about all that? You were _watching _us?"

"To be honest, I got bored. And as a viewer looking on, I have to say you three went overboard with Saiou. Just saying."

"'Just saying'?" Haou repeated. "You think this is a game? A form of entertainment? Is that what you think?"

"No, it's just…" Jim sighed. "Doesn't matter. Not at this point. Come on, mate! Don't you want to stay a while? Say bye to your weapon and all that? It'll be a while before you see him again. I can unfreeze him, if you want."

Unfreeze? Haou paused. He'd long since shoved Judai to the back of his mind in an attempt to get the boy to shut up, but it was just then that he realised Judai had stopped talking altogether. Frozen psyche, Jim had called it? In any case Judai wasn't conscious enough to know what was going on around them.

It wasn't like Haou really cared about Judai. Did it matter if he never saw him again? Probably not; it might even be a relief. No more yapping about stupid topics that Haou either didn't care about or didn't understand (Judai had never _once_ been considerate to the difference in their eras), no more being dragged around to stupid places, having to listen in to stupid conversations, having to live in the back of someone's mind, never really being in control, having to stare _at Johan freaking Anderson's _stupid face _all the freaking time _because, oh, Johan was his brand new best friend - what the hell happened to Sho?

It would, he supposed, be strange. Different. Difficult to get used to at first, but he could adapt. Haou didn't _really _need anyone, and that was the argument he was probably going to use to try to get over Yubel and Jehu's eliminations. He wasn't like Asuka, who'd lost her best friend, or like Fubuki, who'd lost… well, not _best friend. _Probably. Like those feelings didn't go any further.

He already knew that Jehu, if he was in Haou's position, would be in complete panic about losing precious Johan. And Yubel wouldn't care one little bit. He'd gone about it the right way - he hadn't created any links to his host at all. Haou probably should have done that, but it was too late now.

Maybe he would miss Judai. And it really wasn't like they weren't going to see each other again, was it? When Judai died, he'd go straight up to the spirit realm, and Haou would see him then. Providing, of course, that Haou hadn't corrupted by then - he was a very old spirit. He _might_ miss Judai.

Just a little.

Okay, fine. He would definitely miss the idiot. Haou had gotten far too accustomed to having a (and being the) little voice in the back of _their _head. So it was only fair to assume that the emptiness and the _quiet _would eventually get to him. Haou looked up; Jim was smiling at him as if he'd seen this happen all too many times, and Haou got the sudden urge to break his nose.

Resisting that temptation (although it _was _difficult), Haou turned on his heel and stalked to the other side of the road. "Let him out if you want. I don't care at this point."

A few seconds later, Haou found that he was now capable of letting a very indignant Judai out of his mind.

_Haou, what the hell? Why'd you lock me out like that?_

There was a sudden rush of emotion that wasn't even his own; Haou could feel anger and betrayal at being shoved away like he, Judai, was nothing important, and Haou himself realised - _he might never experience this again._

Jim, who had been casually playing with his pendant, paused and looked up. "Hey, mate, I just got orders from the brass. We can move out now. Make it quick."

"Right. Great." _- Thanks for the warning. - _

_Haou?_

_- Judai, I'm not going to pretend you haven't been a total pain in the ass, because you completely, totally have. - _Haou ignored Judai's cry of annoyance in favour of continuing, _- but you were a half-decent weapon, I'll admit. I might miss you a little. -_

_What are you talking about? Haou, seriously, what are you on about? What is this?_

_- This is me saying goodbye, - _Haou paused and, before he could back out of it, quickly added, _- and thank you. - _

_Hey, what? Haou, what are you -_

"Hey, you." Haou called, throat dry. "Now. Let's go now."

Jim nodded and suddenly there was such a lonesome sense of _emptiness. _They were spirits now, Haou realised as he saw Judai standing in the middle of the road, looking confused and a little scared as the rose and crystal castle began to crumble around him. The boy was fading away, the world disappearing ever so slowly. _Why is it taking so long,_ Haou wanted to ask, _and what's happening to the world?_

"_Nothing," _Jim replied, and Haou realised he'd been speaking aloud, _"I just thought you'd like to see it."_

It had been so long since he'd looked down on the world. It seemed so insignificant from the Spirit Realm, just a tiny ball of green and blue. Sometimes it seemed like Haou could just reach out and grab it, hold it in his hand, and crush it into whatever shape he wanted.

Of course, no-one could see the world whenever they wanted to; it was an honour granted only to the just dead and those about to corrupt - the privilege of seeing where it all started.

Everything was happening so _quickly_ now, so easily. Nothing ever seemed to matter up here, Haou mused, and his thoughts jumped from one thing to another to another to another, never really stopping and letting him ponder about one thing in particular. It had been the unusual thing, the last time he'd been there, to stay so focused on one thing.

It took a while for him to remember what that one thing was. _- Jehu, - _Haou remembered suddenly. _- He killed me! -_

_- No. That's old news. We sorted this out. Jehu was destroyed in the human world. He's gone now, same as Yubel. -_

_- Wait, but I… what about… - _

_God, _this was so confusing. Haou frowned and tried to clear his thoughts. People. Jehu, who was innocent of everything but being in Kaldea because Haou had told him to, and was manipulated by Saiou as a result. Yubel, who fell in love with Haou, going insane and beginning to corrupt as a result. Saiou, who was dead. - _Huh. -_ Haou frowned. He… didn't really care much about Saiou, actually. Asuka and Fubuki, the spirits Haou came to know, and Austin O'Brien, Yusuke Fujiwara...

Then, the humans… Judai, who had been there from the start and hadn't wanted to fight his friends, but Haou had forced him to anyway. Edo, who had pieced together Haou's past and predicted Jehu's destruction by Yubel's hand. Rei and Ryo, Judai's friends, and Johan Anderson, the boy that looked so much like Jehu…

_- Wow. - _Haou thought dryly. _- My existence has __**sucked**__. - _

It was with this thought that Haou snapped out of whatever reverie he'd gotten himself stuck in and opened his eyes. A person and a glowing light came into view, and Haou pushed himself up off his back - apparently he'd fallen over at some point.

"Hey, mate." Jim. Great. Just who he'd wanted to see at this point. "Come on, will you? I've got something for you to see."

Haou groaned and stood up in time for the lights to fade; he was in some sort of corridor that was both rustic and high-tech at the same time. Wires and cables decorated ancient stone walls, and people lay unconscious on diagonally slanted tables. They were littered with injuries of all descriptions; stab wounds, burn marks, lacerations, one of them looked like they'd _been drowned... _"Weapons?"

"Yeah." Jim stopped to point at someone lying in pieces on a table. "You should recognise this guy."

Haou looked over. The body was slowly healing, but the head had been split open and parts of the chest had been ripped open. He stared, trying to recognise the wounds, when he remembered - "Cobra." Haou came up with, and Jim nodded. "I thought he ran away."

"Nah. We picked him up and brought him here. It'll take a while for him to heal though; you did a real number on him." Jim strode ahead past a few more tables. "Come on."

Haou made his way over, vaguely wondering if he was going to be shown a decapitated Cronos. But it wasn't, it couldn't be - the body was too small, too young, with blue hair and a chunk missing from his side - "Johan." Haou blinked. "Johan Anderson."

"Yeah. He's not too bad. Jehu lost from blood loss, so it shouldn't take too long to get the kid up and at it again."

_- Jehu. - _Haou let out an involuntary growl that didn't go unnoticed. "That's great. Send him back whenever. I don't really want to look at him."

Jim rolled his only visible eye. "Mate, I think you two need to have a word."

"Why?"

"Because you have a lot to talk about." Jim reached over to the machine that Johan was plugged into and flicked a switch. The effect was almost instantaneous; whatever sedative that had been used to keep Johan under began wearing off.

It still amazed Haou to this day that such a magical place as the Spirit Realm was so dependent on science. He'd remembered the time he'd first arrived and seen the technology. He'd almost had a fit. Thankfully, time in the modern human world had managed to cure him of the belief that it was super-advanced witchcraft. (Though… it wasn't really like he could complain.)

Johan's eyelids began to flicker and he slowly opened his eyes, instantly wincing at just how bright it was. "Judai," he croaked as soon as Haou came into view. "Where am I?"

A flicker of annoyance flashed through Haou, but he brushed it off. He and Judai _did _look alike, after all. "No. I'm Haou."

"Oh." And now Johan had the gall to look disappointed. Still, Haou _had _given him a rough time of it, being Jehu's weapon and all. "Previous question still stands. Where am I?" He tried to sit up and immediately caught sight of his side - or rather, what was left of it. "Oh god."

"Oi, mate, don't move too much!" Jim pushed Johan back down onto the table, which admittedly wasn't too hard for him to do. "You'll start losing blood again!"

"What? Who are you? Where am I? _How am I still alive?" _Johan winced and looked away from the wound.

"You're in the Spirit Realm." Haou told him impassively.

"_Again_? Last time I was here, I -" Johan's eyes widened as he seemed to put two and two together. "Oh, god. I'm dead, aren't I?"

"No, you're not." Haou leant his arm against the table so he could lean over Johan. "This is ritual. When a weapon is injured they're brought to the Spirit Realm to heal. Otherwise people would be dropping dead all through the competition. You're still alive."

"Oh. Then…" Johan glanced around. "Where's Jehu? Why isn't he crowding around my sickbed?" Haou stayed silent, and Johan's expression slipped into one of horror. "He's not. Tell me he's not. He's just sleeping somewhere. Or… or he got lost on the way here again. He's not dead!"

Haou raised an eyebrow, and Johan flushed red. "You know what I mean! God Haou, what the hell is wrong with you?" Haou briefly wondered if whatever sedative it was that Johan was hooked up to had been the same one that had kept Judai so calm during his first visit to the Spirit Realm. If so, it was definitely wearing off. Haou still didn't say anything.

"He lost." Jim explained. "Fighting Yubel. They managed to destroy each other."

"No way…" Johan's eyes welled with what looked to be the starts of tears. Haou sighed and reached over, brushing the tiny water droplets away.

"Johan. Look at me." Johan looked up, and Haou continued; "Jehu was destroyed, yes. But that was to be expected. Edo _told _you he saw Jehu dying, so you can't say you weren't warned. Take consolation in the fact that Yubel was destroyed in the process."

"Oh, that's great! That makes me feel so much better about everything! _He killed the guy who was killing him! _Now I can sleep better at night!" Johan yelled. "Now what am I supposed to do, huh? Go back to my normal life? My normal life has Jehu in it. Go live my life however I want to? _Jehu would be there_!"

Haou winced. Like Johan wouldn't take this badly. "_Look," _he let out a growl of irritation, grabbing Johan by the chin so he could look him in the eye. "You either accept this and move on, or mope for the rest of your life. You can accept that Jehu was _already dead _and enjoy the memories of the time you had together, or _kill yourself for nothing_."

Haou had to give the kid credit. Johan didn't flinch.

He let go of Johan and stepped back. "What do you want to do?"

It looked like Johan had been expecting to be yelled at again. _"…huh?"_

"What do you want to do with your life?" Haou asked again. "Before you met Jehu, during, afterwards, what did you want to do?"

"…" Johan was silent for a few seconds. "…I wanted to be a teacher," he came up with finally, looking embarrassed. "I like teaching…"

"Then go do that. Move on with your life, do what you want and get used to it." Haou looked away awkwardly. "Don't make the same mistakes I did." He turned back, locking eyes with Johan again. "And that includes Judai as well."

It was almost astounding how quickly Johan's face went from pale to bright red. "Wh- what are you -?"

"You heard me." Haou gave a rueful smile. "Don't waste your life. Go for it."

"Wh… you seriously…"

"Yeah." Haou stepped back. "That's really all I can give you right now." He locked eyes with Jim, silently asking, _'did I do that right?'_

When Jim nodded and flicked the switch, sending Johan back into a drugged slumber, Haou knew he'd done the right thing.

And it had been a long time since he'd felt that way.

"Now what?" Haou asked as he and Jim continued down the hallway.

"Well, obvious is obvious," Jim said with a smile, "Competition, right? How d'you think you did?"

"Abysmally?" Haou frowned. "I didn't get many pendants at all."

"What?" Now it was Jim's turn to frown. "That's not how the competition works, mate."

"It isn't?"

"Course it's not! If it was, we'd just get the most ruthless and bloodthirsty spirits as our Spirit Rulers! No way that'd be a good thing!"

_- …huh. I didn't think of it that way. –_

"You win because you change." Apparently the look on Haou's face was enough to tell Jim he had no idea what that was supposed to mean, because the spirit official laughed and continued, "The next Spirit Ruler had to be someone who changed, either a little or a lot. When you first started, why did you want to win the competition?"

"Power." Haou answered instantly.

"Now?"

"I..." Haou paused. "…I don't know. I still want power, but… I don't want to see anyone go through what I had to go through with Jehu and Yubel, either."

"Exactly! And that's your change! Almost every spirit had one," Jim grinned. "You love Jehu, as your knight, protector, rival and lover. You love Yubel, as your cousin, best friend, advisor and guardian."

_- Huh? I do? – _Haou blinked a few times, "Yeah, I suppose I do. Still, what about the pendants?"

"Ever wondered why each spirit has a different one? They represent part of their soul. Each pendant contains a p of their respective spirit, and the Spirit Ruler must have more than one perspective. The pendants go towards creating a balanced leader – that being said, I suppose the Spirit Ruler has a little bit of everyone they defeat inside them…"

"Wait." An idea was coming to him now, excitement welling up inside Haou like never before, but tis depended on _one little thing _– "Who's the Spirit Ruler?"

Jim just smiled as they reached the end of the corridor, where a huge crystal doorway awaited them. "I don't know," he said, kicking the door open, "you wanna find out?"

**Oh. My. God. I. Did. It. I actually finished this chapter, some five months after I started it…?**

**And a cliffhanger! Another one! *shot* The next chapter is definitely the final one. To be honest, I can't believe it… and I know exactly how it's going to end, too, right down to the last line. I've known that since… the second chapter, I guess? Haha… *shot again***

**Still, I'd like it if you enjoyed this even a little bit. Writing this thing's been a journey, even for me! …OH MY GOD, I SOUND LIKE A SENTIMENTAL OLD PERSON!**

…**not that I have anything against old people, of course.**

…**I think.**

…**I'M RAMBLING AGAIN, AREN'T I?**

**Anyway, to you people who've been with me from the start – THANKS FOR STICKING AROUND! To new readers who only found this the other day because they got bored and were flipping **_**wayyyy **_**back in the GX archive – THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!**

**To myself, who is at this point in time really tired and should probably try to go to sleep – STOP TYPING IN CAPS LOCK!**

**Oh, wait…**

**Anyway… Drop a review on your way out, yeah?**

_~Oak-chan_


	33. Chapter 29: Final

_[Ryo's thoughts]_

_**Here it is, and I can't believe it either. The final chapter ever of Spirits ever, thankfully, so I can finish this and get on with my life, haha…?**_

_**Oh, wait. TakeOver. Right.**_

_**By the way, does anyone know about this supposed mature fic witch hunt 's apparently going on? What constitutes 'mature' anyway? There's some violence in this, and some of it's a bit graphic I guess, so do you guys reckon I should bump it up to M or something? I'm not sure…**_

_**Anyway, I had fun writing this, so I hope you enjoy reading it, and I doubly hope it's a satisfying ending to a hella long story.**_

_**So with that, enjoy the last…?**_

_Chapter 29: Final_

Ryo had always figured that he was going to die a little earlier than he'd liked. It was kind of a given, since his heart was prone to kicking out whenever it felt like it and he'd already _technically _died some three or four times already (and the last time he'd been saved by getting CPR from a ghost, something that still made all the sense of a cat spontaneously growing wings).

And he had died, a few nights back, and it had happened so quickly he didn't even notice it happening. In fact, he wasn't sure he was entirely conscious.

(…maybe Fubuki had disappeared because he had died…?)

When he was still alive, and before he'd met Fubuki (and the others, he added a full ten seconds later), he'd always wondered what death would be like. Now that he knew he had a sort of closure that it wouldn't be too bad, so long as he wasn't forced to fight in some stupid competition.

Still, he'd had no idea he was going to have to watch his own damn funeral.

"Ryo was a good man that always lived his life to the fullest," the priest, an old guy in black that Ryo had never seen before in his life, said in a sombre tone. "He fought right to the end and never gave up, no matter the circumstances."

Wait, what? How the hell did that priest know all this about him? Ryo frowned. His parents were crying and Sho looked a mixture of remorseful, shell-shocked and doubtful.

"He was the life and soul of the party –"

Okay, so now he knew that priest was full of shit.

He was a spirit now, right? Why couldn't the others see him? Ryo glanced to the side, where Rei, Judai, Edo and Johan stood close by each other, each looking more disbelieving than the last.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…"

Oh good, they were at the part where they threw dirt on him. Wasn't this supposed to be respectful? Ryo rolled his eyes and went to walk away. There was no point in him staying there. For whatever reason, the weapons couldn't see him and that in itself let him know he wasn't supposed to be there.

"Are you ready to leave?" Jim Cook, the blatantly Western Australian guy who'd told him to watch his own funeral, asked. Finally.

Ryo nodded. "Just get me out of this place."

And then he was flying. Ryo watched as the world shrunk to the size of a pinprick and then suddenly, he was floating. He couldn't think properly, really, what was going on, who he was, who was… who, that spirit… or what…

"_You don't have to sleep like that. Wake up, Marufuji. __**Wake up**__**already!**__"_

His eyes snapped open and light poured in on all sides. Jim smiled down at him. "Awake, then?"

Ryo groaned and stood up – when'd he fallen over? – looking all around him. "Did you wake me up?"

Jim shook his head. "Nah, that was one of the Ruler's guys. Speaking of our glorious new master, he's been trying to kill dead the idea that spirits should be kept in stasis until they're needed. Don't blame him, really…" he hummed. "…you should come meet him. You might be surprised."

"The Spirit Ruler?" Ryo's eyes narrowed as he tried to sift through the haze of thoughts that had just been completely and utterly messed up by… stasis? "Did Haou win the competition?"

"…not exactly." Jim finally answered, looking away awkwardly. "We had some complications, and your friend the Supreme King might have exploited a few loopholes in the rulebook."

_[That sounds like him,] _Ryo thought dryly. "Talk sense or not at all. What's going on? Who's in charge around here?"

"You should probably see for yourself, mate…" Ryo rolled his eyes and followed Jim through the strangely contrasting hallways. Being dragged into the afterlife and forgetting almost everything he knew for god knew how long was one thing, but ancient castle walls held in place by multi-coloured wires and computer monitors just didn't make sense.

They passed through a hall full of beds propped up against walls. Most of them were empty, but the people that were occupying beds seemed to have been brutally mutilated in one way or another. Jim caught his eye and shrugged sheepishly.

By the time they'd finished walking (and that could have been anywhere between five minutes and five years later, Ryo really had _no _idea what was going on with time in this place), they'd arrived in front of a plain wooden door imbedded in a wall.

"The Spirit Ruler's chambers lies beyond this door," Jim said, holding out a hand as his eye glinted.

"That's the entrance to the Spirit Ruler's chambers? I was expecting something more impressive." Ryo eyed the door warily. It looked like his laundry door back home. "It's kind of plain."

"Honestly, that's what everyone says." Jim shook his head. "It's a nice enough door. Sturdy." He caught Ryo's eye and blanched. "Just open the door, will you?"

Bristling slightly, Ryo reached out and caught hold of the doorknob. He almost jerked back in shock. It had a pulse. _The doorknob had a heartbeat. _

If things weren't creepy enough... Ryo shook his head and pulled open the door, trying to ignore the constant beating under his fingertips.

Ryo's first impression was that the room was way too small for that of the Ruler of the afterlife. It was actually kind of like a flat, the only difference being how blatantly medieval it was; rock walls, dramatic tapestries, fridge… huh?

Now that he looked around, the entire room seemed like a giant anachronism. Sure, there was medieval furniture, doorways, decorations and such, but the room itself was definitely set out more like an apartment. On top of that, there was a giant flat screen TV where it looked like someone had paused a video game and left to go get something else, a few laptops scattered around, the kitchen was obviously 21st century…

This. Was. Not. Normal.

"What the hell?" Ryo finally came out with. "This is…"

"A mismatch of several different things across a few centuries," Jim said from behind him. "When we said this room could be _anything_, our Ruler went a little nuts."

"This doesn't look like something Haou would want," A once-over of the room proved this to be true. Haou definitely wouldn't be caught dead playing BioShock (was that the game? Ryo really had no idea), and he also wasn't the type to throw knives at what looked to be the 16th century equivalent of a dartboard. Plus, he was pretty sure Haou didn't even know what a laptop _was_, let alone require two of them. And there were three mugs on the table…

Ryo really had no idea why it had taken it so long to finally click in. He would later blame the culture shock. "Haou's not the only one living here, is he?"

"Bingo!" Jim grinned, clapping until Ryo sent him such a vicious death glare that he realised it was in is best interests to stop. "Our Ruler is not one person."

"Then who…" The sound of a door slamming open reached his ears and Ryo turned around. Haou swept into the room, looking very strange in a black tunic and dark blue tracksuit pants. "Haou."

"Ryo Marufuji," Haou nodded, acknowledging his presence. "So you finally dropped dead. Good for you. Life starts now." He turned to Jim. "Cook, why is there somehow _more _paperwork than what I started out with?"

"Mainly 'cause your loverboy thought it would be a great idea to abolish Limbo," Jim answered with a roll of his eye, "Now spirits are either stuck on Earth or are wondering 'roud the Realm out of stasis. Maybe you should talk to him about that, but I think he's probably hiding."

"Oh, I am going to _kill _him –"

"Wait, what?" Ryo turned to Haou and Jim. "There's only one Spirit Ruler. What are you talking about?"

Haou stared at him. "Cook didn't explain." He said dully. "Why isn't that surprising?"

Jim look mildly offended. "I just haven't gotten 'round to it yet."

"Of course." Haou rolled his eyes and turned back to Ryo. "The Spirit Ruler became the person who changed the most. And it wasn't how they changed while on Earth. It was how they changed in how they wanted to be Ruler. My change was that I wanted to stop the competition from hurting people. And I wanted to salvage my past life, even though I'd pretty much managed to smash it into pieces."

"And that was the biggest change out of everyone involved?" Ryo somehow doubted that. Like there weren't about a billion other spirits out there that wanted to stop the competition and fix the wrongs from when they were alive.

"No. What changed was how I figure out how to do it." Haou smirked. "The pendants involved were a little piece of the spirits they belonged to. When you won a pendant, you won a tiny piece of that spirit. When that spirit was destroyed, that tiny piece of them was salvaged. And a Ruler can do anything with a little piece of spirit."

It took a moment for Ryo to realise what Haou was getting at, but when he did it sunk in hard. "You had Jehu and Yubel's pendants," he said. "You had a piece of each of them. Tell me you didn't…"

"I brought them back into existence," Haou shrugged like it was nothing, but then, he'd always had a habit of making the impossible out to be below average. "And Jim thought it was a brilliant idea to have three spirits as one Spirit Ruler. Said it balanced things out."

"I did." Jim said, crossing his arms over in what looked like annoyance. "But I had no idea how much trouble you'd be causing. Seriously. Yubel's killing the spirit stasis that keeps spirits trapped in their thoughts so they don't corrupt. Jehu destroyed Limbo, and I still have no idea why, and Haou just…" Jim's eye narrowed. "What _he _does is total abuse of authority."

"What does he –" Ryo sighed when he saw the murderous glint in Haou's eyes. "You have Saiou's pendant too."

"And he keeps destroying him over and over…" Jim shook his head, and Ryo was briefly impressed that he managed to get his hat to stay on. "Seriously Haou, too much."

"He deserves it," Haou retorted. "He shouldn't have messed with me in life."

"So you torture him for the rest of time? Real mature, Supreme King."

Ryo shook his head as a smile crept onto his face, "Yeah, you definitely haven't changed. Where are the others?"

"Jehu's hiding somewhere. Yubel's off letting people out of stasis." Haou answered, carefully watching to see Ryo's reaction. "But they're not the ones you were asking about, were they?"

How did he know _that_? Haou had never been so intuitive, or maybe he was just obvious. Ryo briefly wondered if 'mind reading' was part of the bundle that came with being 1/3 of the Spirit Ruler. "Where are Asuka and Fubuki?" A sense of horror overtook him as he remembered where he'd just been, where _they _could be – "God, are they in stasis?"

"What?" Now it was Haou's turn to frown. "No. I just told you. Yubel's letting everyone out of stasis. He should be back soon, by the way."

Ryo tried not to let the relief show on his face, but judging by Jim's expression, he'd probably failed miserably. "About Yubel. You're all okay now?"

"Mostly. Jehu and Yubel argue sometimes, but that's to be expected. And anyway, he's saner now than he was when he was alive." Haou smiled weakly. "It would have been hard for him not to be."

"_Which _reminds me." Jim cut in. "I might have locked the door a bit. I think there are a few people trying to get in." He caught Ryo's incredulous look. "Sturdy door."

"Open it," Haou said impatiently. "Let them in."

"Sure thing, your Highness." Jim rolled his eye again and went to open the door. As soon as it opened there was a blur of brown and white as Fubuki flung himself through the door and at Ryo.

"_RYO-CHAN!"_

Ryo almost fell over, but somehow managed to catch Fubuki in his arms. This was… weird. Neither Fubuki nor himself was transparent. They were both solid (or spirit? Hard to tell) and Fubuki was _warm_, a real body and real existence –

He was briefly aware of Yubel, a nervous looking Yusuke and Asuka standing off to the side and laughing as Jehu slinked back into the room and over to Haou, who hit him a few times before pulling him into a kiss. It had to be nice, to be able to be together like that, Ryo thought briefly before it sunk in – _he was staying in the Spirit Realm. _

For the first time in a long time, Ryo didn't have to be worried about dying, about his heart cutting out or school or _anything _– all he had to do was exist, with Fubuki (and the others, he supposed) and exist forever.

And Ryo, having decided to go to hell with it and just act on his emotions, hearing Fubuki gasp beneath his lips, thought only one thing-

_[Worth it.]_

.:…:…:…:…:…:.

Back on Earth, things had been going on as they had been before all the weirdness had happened. And to be honest, Johan wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He'd gotten used to having Jehu in his mind. He was used to there always being someone there for him, used to never having to be alone.

He'd been almost completely sure he wouldn't be able to cope.

Then Judai appeared.

Judai, who'd been suffering through almost the exact same thing. Judai, who knew exactly what had happened, and still wanted to know what was happening in the beyond. Judai, who had just bought him a soft drink even though Johan had already told him _not _to… Johan rolled his eyes and accepted the drink with a smile.

Judai was a nice change. To everything, really. Sometimes it got too lonely without Jehu, but Judai had made it clear that Johan was to call him the second he needed someone to talk to, and after a while and a lot of prodding, that's exactly what Johan did.

Judai listened. He always knew what to say. And when Judai needed someone to talk to, Johan did the same.

Once they got past their initial problems – Johan was a near genius, Judai could barely keep up with school, Johan loved classical music, Judai listened to anything with a beat, Johan had had a spirit that Judai's had wanted to murder…

All things considered, life was very nearly perfect.

They weren't alone at the café on the corner. It was the same one that Edo had told them that Yubel was going to destroy Jehu in, but despite that things surprisingly weren't too awkward.

Except for the fact that this was supposed to be their first _official _date and somehow three other people had ended up tagging along.

"This place does really good gelato," Rei chirped, stirring her straw around her milkshake with a smile on her face. "I came here once with -" she paused. "…Asuka."

Things had been tough for Rei too, Johan had to remember. It was just hard to sympathise when _she'd _stolen the seat next to Judai.

Sho, on the other hand, was just relieved it was all over. He'd only had a brief stint as Ran's spirit, and he hadn't exactly enjoyed it. Edo thought along similar lines – for all he cared, Saiou could burn in the pits of hell for the rest of existence. Preferably with Edo watching. And Ryo… Ryo was just gone. Johan hoped he'd managed to find Fubuki, wherever he was.

"So what is this, the ex-weapon sympathy club?" Edo replied bitingly. "Why are we here?"

"No idea. You weren't invited," Johan replied, trying to send the unsubtle hint that _they. weren't. welcome. there! _But they didn't leave, and to be honest, Johan didn't mind too much. Especially not when Judai reached over the table and took Johan's hand in his, grinning with that grin of his and Johan _knew _things were going to be just fine, even with their spirits gone.

_(After all,) _he thought as he leaned back a bit, interlacing his fingers with Judai's, _(they might be gone, but that doesn't mean we'll ever forget.)_

And when things finally ended, Johan knew… that was when things would truly start.

_**End.**_

…**so, uh. Wow. It's… done? …I really don't have too much to say now, except for the obvious 'OH MY GOD IT'S DONE THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR STICKING AROUND!' spiel. So, uh…**

**Oh my god. It's **_**actually **_**done? I can't believe it, to be honest. Thank you all so, so much for sticking around, and I really hope this was a satisfying ending. Heh heh ^^;**

**You should probably know that Ryo's heart cut out when Jim froze the human psyche. Their minds were frozen, not their bodies, and that's when Ryo died. Of course, no-one could have possibly known this, which is why it wasn't really mentioned. **

**Anyway, I've officially discontinued Operation: Matchmaker, and it's up for adoption should anybody want it. Just PM me about it if you're interested. I'll post a similar note on the actual story.**

**Haha, thanks for sticking around. Seriously, I really appreciate it. And thank you so much to the people that have been here since chapter one.**

**Now just excuse me while I just go off and die of disbelief at having actually finished this, if that's even possible.**


End file.
